Hello Dolly!
by montypython203
Summary: In Sydney Australia, a young girl lies in a coma, the only recent change in her life being a small china doll. The 10th Doctor, Rose and the Chaser team investigate.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: Hello Dolly! cowers in shame at stupid name_

_Rating: K+ (for now)_

_Summary: In Sydney Australia, a young girl lies in a coma, the only change in her life recently being a small china doll. The 10th Doctor, Rose and the Chaser team (yes, you read that right) investigate. If you don't know who the Chaser team are look them up on Wikipedia or watch some of their stuff on YouTube.  
_

_Disclaimer: No, I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, I wouldn't be watching the classic episodes on YouTube, less than an episode per day, then getting annoyed at my little brother for spending precious megabytes on Umbilical Bros vids. _

_Author's Note: New fic, hope you like. Not much more else to say, so yeah :P_

**Hello Dolly!**_  
_

**Prologue**

Alexis sat up in bed. She was finding it hard to get to sleep, especially after her aunt had bought her that doll for her tenth birthday. Something about it just wasn't right. Its eyes were wide, and they seemed to follow her everywhere she went.

"It's only an illusion," her mother had told her, but she still found something unsettling about it.

_Stop it_, she thought to herself. _You're in double figures now, how can you be afraid of a stupid doll? _She turned the light on, and slowly walked up to the doll. "Chelsea", her aunt had named her. She looked the doll in the eye.

"You're nothing Chelsea," she said to it. "You're just, uh, what are you made out of anyway? Oh yeah, china. You're just china in a frilly dress. You can't hurt me. You can't even see me." Alexis cocked her head to one side and looked at Chelsea from an angle. Why had she been so afraid? She looked at the doll face on once more, just to get it into her head that this simple man-made toy was just that, and nothing more. Suddenly, after sometime staring, Chelsea did something Alexis wasn't ready for. She blinked. She then reached out her cold, china arms towards Alexis, who screamed in terror.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Now don't tell me you've never been scared that a doll's going to blink at you, I know you have! I know it's not much to go on, but review anyway!_


	2. Chapter 2

_New chapter!_

"So where are we then?" asked Rose.

"Earth, December, 2007," the Doctor replied. "I can't say what country, lately the TARDIS has been acting up. Unless I feed her specific coordinates she won't land in the right place and won't tell me where we are. Don't worry, I'll get onto fixing that soon. But never mind, it adds to the sense of adventure." He said the last bit with a twinkle in his eye. Rose smiled. She loved the Doctor's enthusiasm about these things.

"Great," she said. She took his hand and they stepped out together. They were next to a harbour, and right behind them was the Sydney Opera House. The Doctor grinned.

"Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, and a couple of tra la las … that's how we laugh the day away, in the merry old land of Oz!" he sang. "Of course when I say Oz I mean Australia, not Munchkinland and all that. And we're in Sydney. Oh, Sydney's a great place. The Harbour Bridge, the Entertainment Centre, the SCG … oh I love the SCG! I love cricket. You know in my fifth form I actually played cricket? And I wore the outfit everywhere I went! Oh, I had some good times. But seriously, cricket's a brilliant sport. Mind you, there have been some points during test matches where I've been mighty glad I've got a time machine." Rose smiled and nodded. She'd learnt not to interrupt the Doctor during one of his ramblings. He was like a little kid. He'd get tired and stop eventually.

"Oh, Sydney," he continued. "I haven't been to Sydney too many times. I tend to spend most of my time around London. Honestly, what is it with you Brits and aliens? You can't keep 'em out for more than a few days." The Doctor looked around, and realised he was getting some strange looks from people.

"Maybe we should head off," suggested Rose. "Is it gonna be alright leaving the TARDIS here? I don't want to be stranded without provisions like we were on the planet Treflira."

"Psychic paper, sonic screwdriver, plenty of cash, yep, got everything," said the Doctor. "Let's explore!" They linked arms and walked towards the city. But as they began walking, they were overcome by a mass of pink. Hundreds of girls wearing pink dresses rushed past them, towards the Opera House.

"Of course," the Doctor said. "Rose, these are the students of Cheltenham Girls High School, the only school in the universe to have a pink uniform. It must be their annual Presentation Day. They have it at the Opera House every year." As they began walking, they couldn't help but notice the number of girls stopping and smiling in the direction of the Doctor. Some had completely stopped walking and were just standing there. Some were whispering to their friends, and though Rose couldn't hear what they were saying, she could guess it was probably something along the lines of "He's hot". The Doctor's cheeks were going as pink as the uniforms.

"Come on," Rose said, dragging the Doctor away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Since he'd regenerated the Doctor wasn't as quick to throw himself into danger. He was happy to just enjoy the little things they did together, and he did that now. They bought gelato. They went to a shop and bought a souvenir corkscrew hat, which the Doctor insisted on wearing, on account of the harsh Australian sun.

"By the way when I say that it doesn't mean Australia's actually got a separate sun, it just means it's a lot hotter here," he explained. Rose rolled her eyes. Sometimes he treated her as an equal, and sometimes it was like it was her first adventure again and he had to explain everything. Either way it didn't really matter, as long as they were together. Now they sat at a small diner. The Doctor had ordered some "local cuisine" (a meat pie), but Rose stuck to chips. As they ate they noticed a TV that was on. It was showing a cricket game, which had the Doctor thoroughly interested. But when it went to a news update he was even more interested.

"A perfectly healthy 10-year-old girl was found this morning in a deep coma," the newsreader said. "She was found on the floor of her bedroom this morning by her mother. Doctors are baffled by the occurrence, as they have found no medical reason for it to have happened."

"It was just such a shock," her mother said. "And next to her we found the doll her aunt gave her, its head smashed to pieces. Alexis will be heartbroken if … if she ever wakes up."

"The girl's North Sydney home is now being fully investigated by police, doctors, private detectives, and anyone who can help."

"That's interesting," said the Doctor. "Very interesting."

"You want to check it out don't you?" Rose said.

"Absolutely," said the Doctor. " As it just so happens they showed enough in the footage of the house for me to figure out exactly where it is. They said North Sydney for a start. And I could see some landmarks in the background, that should help."

"Wait, aren't we taking the TARDIS?" Rose asked.

"I don't think that's be a good idea," the Doctor said. "I told you the TARDIS has been acting up. We may end up in 13th century China or something."

"Okay, we'll just take the tube," said Rose.

"Yep, except it's just called a train here," said the Doctor. They found their way to the train station and bought tickets to North Sydney, the Doctor using the psychic paper to show that Rose was a student ("We need to save our cash", he told her). The train started to move, and they sat back in their seats.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Is anyone here a Cheltenham girl? I am, and yes, our summer uniform is pink. _

_I actually don't know how far awar North Sydney is from the city, so let's just make this slightly AU and say it isn't very far. Okay? Now review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for your reviews so far. _

About ten minutes into the ride they noticed a passenger a couple of rows in front of them was making a call on his mobile. He began talking, loud enough for the whole carriage to hear.

"Hello Dr Ng, it's Clive here," he said. "I'm just calling about my irritable bowel syndrome." The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"Well, the constipation's still fairly strong, but the diarrhoea's coming less often," Clive continued. "Yeah … okay bye." He hung up. The Doctor bit his lip and walked over to the man.

"Excuse me," he said. "I er, couldn't help overhearing your conversation just then. I'm a Doctor you know, and I'd be happy to give you a cure …" Clive began to smile.

"Oh, thanks but no thanks mate," he said. "I don't actually have anything wrong with me. It's just for a TV show. It's being filmed by guys with hidden cameras there … there … and there. It's for _The Chaser's War On Everything_, maybe you've heard of it? No? Never mind. Hi, I'm Andrew. Andrew Hansen."

"I thought your name was Clive," said the Doctor.

"Just for the sketch," Andrew explained. " 'Clive: The Slightly Too Loud Commuter'."

"Oh, right," said the Doctor, embarrassed. "So, I take it you know your way around here?"

"Yes," answered Andrew.

"Well, my friend and I …" he indicated towards Rose, "… are looking for the house in North Sydney where that little girl fell into a coma," the Doctor said.

"Oh, I think it's closed off to anyone who isn't part of the investigation," Andrew said.

"But I am part of the investigation," the Doctor said. "I've been flown in from England for this."

"And your friend?" asked Andrew.

"My assistant," the Doctor said quickly. "So anyway, could you help us?"

"Um, I was actually meant to meet up with the rest of the team to do some writing," Andrew said.

"Please, just take us to the house and then you can go," the Doctor pleaded.

"Oh all right," said Andrew.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This looks like the place," said the Doctor.

"I think the yellow tape around the house gave that away," Rose said. "Hey, where's Andrew gone?" They looked around, and found that Andrew was talking to a policeman in front of the house.

"Was there any trace of James Blunt music in the house?" he was asking. "That's probably what did it."

"Get out of here," the policeman said. Andrew didn't hesitate. If there was one thing he'd learnt it was to have your fun and go.

"Okay, can I go now?" he asked the Doctor and Rose.

"Yes, thanks for your help," said the Doctor. Andrew nodded and left. The Doctor then walked up to the house. The policeman stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to do my job," the Doctor said, taking out the psychic paper and showing it to the guy. "Doctor John Smith, specialist in abnormal medical occurrences. This is my assistant, Rose Tyler."

"Hello," Rose said. "The Doctor's got a lot of work to do, so could you let him get on with it?"

"Oh, terribly sorry sir," the policeman said. "If I'd known …"

"No need to apologise," the Doctor said, smiling. "Just let us in." The policeman immediately stepped out of the way, allowing the Doctor and Rose to enter. They made their way towards Alexis' bedroom. There were a number of officers in there already, either taking photographs or searching for clues.

"Oh, I wish they had those little torches like they do in _CSI_," commented Rose. "So, what do you think?"

"Can't say," said the Doctor. "Though I would like to have a look at this doll." He signalled a man in the corner of the room.

"Hey mate, do you know where the girl's doll is?" he asked.

"The one that got its head smashed open?" the guy said. "The head detective has taken it into the living room for now. That's where he's storing all his evidence until we get back to the station." The Doctor nodded and made his way into the living room. There was a box marked 'EVIDENCE' sitting on the table. Standing nearby was a man and woman, the woman in tears and the man comforting her. The Doctor turned to Rose.

"You look for the doll, I'll talk to the parents," he said. Rose nodded and, having put on a pair of gloves that were sitting next to the box, began delving through it. The Doctor turned his attention back to the couple.

"Sally, please stop crying," the man said. "She'll be alright. People go into comas all the time, and they eventually come out again. Just look at Boyd, Toadie, Darcy, Katya, Paul …"

"Brian, this isn't an episode of _Neighbours_!" exclaimed the woman, Sally. The Doctor slowly approached them.

"Hello there, Mr and Mrs…?"

"Bennet," said Brian.

"Right," said the Doctor. "If it's alright, I'd like to ask you a few questions." He took out a notepad and a pen and put on his glasses.

"We've already given statements," said Sally, sniffling.

"Ah, but not to me," said the Doctor. "So, how old is Alexis?"

"Er, ten," stated Brian. "Is it important?"

"Everything's important," said the Doctor, writing it down. "And she doesn't have any allergies?"

"Not that we know of," said Sally. "She got a rash once after having some raspberry yoghurt, but that went away."

"Er, right," said the Doctor. Just then Rose tapped him on the shoulder.

"Found it," she said, holding up the doll. The Doctor examined it.

"Interesting …very interesting," he said.

"Yes, that's the doll Carmel, my sister, bought for Alexis," said Sally. "She'd only had it a couple of days, and now it's broken! Why couldn't she have gotten a rag doll, they don't break …"

"Yeah … so where'd she buy it?" asked the Doctor.

"I don't know," answered Sally. "You'll have to ask her. She lives in the main part of the city, in an apartment a few blocks away from the Opera House. I can give you the address if you like." The Doctor nodded, then turned his back to Sally and Brian.

"That'll work well for us," he murmured to Rose. "We can check this out in the TARDIS on the way."

"But you can't just steal evidence, someone's gonna notice," said Rose.

"Not necessarily," said the Doctor. He turned back to the Bennets and took the piece of paper that Sally had just written the address on.

"Well, that'll be all for now," he said. "My assistant and I are just going to take this doll for analysis. Okay, bye then."

"Wait, can you do that?" asked Brian suspiciously. The Doctor didn't reply. He and Rose walked out of the house with their heads down, then ran down the street.

"Look, a taxi!" exclaimed Rose, pointing at a nearby taxicab. They made their way inside.

"The Opera House please, and hurry!" said the Doctor.

"Okay, can you just tell me if there's any traffic?" asked the driver.

"What?" said the Doctor. The driver turned around. He was wearing big black sunglasses. There was also a white cane and a golden Labrador in the front seat.

"You've got to be kidding me," said the Doctor. "No, no no no. Rose, get out."

"Doctor, the poor guy's just trying to make a living," said Rose compassionately.

"How can a blind person make a living doing a job that requires sight?" asked the Doctor. "Listen, no offence mate, but we're in a hurry and this is really inconvenient."

"Oh, look, never mind," the driver said, taking off his sunglasses. "I'm not actually blind, I just wanted to revisit one of my favourite pranks."

"What do you mean 'pranks'?" asked Rose.

"It's for a special of our show, _The Chaser's War On Everything_," said the driver. "We're going to see if the public falls for some of our stuff a second time. Honestly, it's amazing how many people still don't recognise us. Well, you I can understand, I'm guessing from your accents that you're tourists."

"Yeah, something like that," said the Doctor.

"Oh, well hi, I'm Craig Reucassel," the driver said. "Now, I'm actually running late for a writing session with the guys. Tell you what – I'll take you as far as I can on the way, then you can make your own way from there."

"Sounds fine," said the Doctor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_It's my fantasy to meet Andrew while he's doing a Clive sketch (I've got a huge crush on him). I know the show doesn't run in the end of the year, but it should, so I'm making it! BTW the Craig prank did actually happen._  



	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter's a little shorter than the last one. It has a small reference to a reference in Series One. It also has a reference to another of my favourite shows, but I'm not going to tell you what it is._

Craig dropped them off a few minutes walk away from the Opera House, leaving them with directions.

"Thanks again," said Rose. "And good luck with the whole pretending-to-be-blind thing." Craig waved and drove off. Rose and the Doctor began making their way back to the TARDIS.

"Well, that was quite an interesting experience," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, meeting two people from the same TV show in one day!" said Rose.

"Okay Rose, but let's not forget the actual reason we're here," said the Doctor, holding up the doll. Just the look of it made Rose shiver. There was just something about dolls that creeped her out. Finally, they reached the TARDIS. However, there were some Japanese tourists standing around it taking photos.

"No one's gonna notice it, they'll just walk right past it, huh Doctor?" said Rose. The Doctor didn't say anything. He just took Rose's hand and made his way through the tourists. He could just make out what they were saying.

"It's the ancient blue box of legend!" one of them exclaimed. "The one that carries girl with hair of sunlight, man with elephant ears and man who tried to kiss emperor and emperor's daughter!" The Doctor flashed back to when he, Rose and Jack went to Kyoto in 1336. He hadn't realised they'd made that much of an impression. From beside him, he heard a snort of laughter. He turned to Rose.

"What?" he said.

"M … man with elephant ears!" exclaimed Rose. The Doctor rolled his eyes and put the key in the door. Before he could open it, a young Japanese man put his hand on his arm.

"Excuse me," he said. "My name is Hiro Nakamura. I understand blue box can travel through time and space. I also can do this."

"Of course you can," said the Doctor, shrugging the man off. "Rose! Come on." Rose pushed her way through the crowd and into the TARDIS. They shut the doors behind them.

"Bloody hell," said Rose. "You said at the time they'd forget about it in a week!"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my fault!" said the Doctor. "For all we know Jack could have gotten that concubine knocked up, leaving them with a lasting impression."

"I wish he could be here now to tell us," said Rose, sighing. The Doctor pulled Rose into a hug.

"Me too," he admitted. "Come on, let's have a look at this doll." Rose nodded and followed the Doctor into the laboratory. He broke off a small fragment of the head and placed it under a microscope, which he then looked through. He said nothing for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Oh dear," he said.

"What is it?" asked Rose anxiously.

"See for yourself," said the Doctor. Rose squinted through the microscope. All she could see was a group of dots, lines and crosses.

"See those little crosses?" said the Doctor.

"Uh huh," said Rose.

"That's the DNA of the Polygrite," said the Doctor. "It's an alien from the planet Fankehreht. It's gaseous, and can possess basically anything around it."

"What, even non-living things?" said Rose.

"Yep," said the Doctor. "However it can't survive in non-living things for more than a few weeks, then it starts to weaken, and eventually die. And it can't survive just floating in the air for more than 10 minutes. It _needs _to be possessing a living creature in order to fully survive. But not plants, because they can't adapt to use sunlight for food."

"And that's full possession, like Cassandra?" asked Rose.

"That's right," confirmed the Doctor. "Mind you, they can't just cruise in and out like she did. If one of these enters you, your whole system would basically shut down. They need time to adjust, you see. But once it's done that, there's no stopping it." Rose thought about this for a moment.

"And … the DNA's in the doll," she said. "So it must have been possessing the doll."

"Correctamundo … damn, I wasn't meant to say that again … but yeah," said the Doctor. "But it isn't now. These traces have been here for at least 15 hours or so, so that'd be about the time it left." For a moment, neither spoke. Then they looked at each other as they realised what this meant. Suddenly, the scanner screen switched onto the news.

"This just in, Alexis Bennet has woken up!" said the reporter. "The ten-year-old girl, who went into a coma less than 24 hours ago, has regained consciousness, and her health is better than ever!" There was a shot of Alexis in her hospital bed, talking to the camera.

"I am feeling much better now," she said, barely any emotion in her voice at all. Rose looked at the Doctor, her mind working hard to fit everything together. The body shutting down … the broken doll … the lack of emotion …

"We've got to get to that hospital," she said.

"Before it's too late," added the Doctor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Dun dun dun ..._

_For those of you who don't know, Hiro is a character in **Heroes**, who can bend time and space. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry this one's so short. And I know I left you on a bit of a cliffie last time, and I'm afraid that'll have to be extended._

"Sorry I'm late guys," said Craig.

"That's alright, Andrew only arrived a couple of minutes ago," said Chas. "So, get some good footage?"

"Quite a bit, yeah," said Craig. "Except there were a couple of tourists and they seemed like they really needed a lift, so I helped them out."

"Good on ya," said Chris. "Hey, I got an email from Charles this morning. He suggested he asks some random Americans questions about some of their most famous people, like Marilyn Monroe and stuff."

"Sounds alright," said Craig. "Mind you, nothing will beat the time they didn't know what date 9/11 was on (**A/N **One person said it was on October 16!). So what are you up to Jules?"

"I've been checking the online guestbook," replied Julian. "We've got heaps of requests to test that ad where they launch the beer ingredients and the deer into the air and it starts raining beer."

"Hey, I understand their reasons, but we weren't even allowed to do anything at the Logies this year!" said Andrew. "Do you really think we'd get permission to catapult a living creature into the sky?"

"True," admitted Julian. "Hey Andrew, there's another message from montypython saying you're hot." Andrew sighed. Ever since first chatting to montypython online, then meeting her, she'd been bombarding him with messages of love and the like. The thing was, he felt the same way … (**A/N **Okay, I'm getting off topic. But part of that is true.)

"Andrew, how did you go with your Clive skit?" asked Chas.

"Oh, it was great," said Andrew. "Actually, this guy approached me and offered his medical opinion!" The others laughed. "Then I ended up taking him and his assistant to Alexis Bennet's house."

"That's the kid in the coma, right?" said Chris. "We've gotta think of some jokes for that. Going into a coma for no reason? Ha, maybe she was listening to James Bl-"

"I already suggested that to a guy that was standing outside the house," said Andrew. "He didn't look like the joking type though. He would have beaten me up if I didn't leave."

"Hey, you think you've risked your life?" said Julian. "Try approaching a street gang and asking to join!"

"That was very brave of you Jules," said Chris. "But not as brave as Chas, who almost went to gaol for his Bulldogs stunt."

"Come on guys, that's old news," said Chas, grinning. "But it was fun. Not as fun as pulling Andrew's pants down in public, but still fun."

"Yeah yeah," said Andrew. Just then Craig turned on the TV, and saw a news report.

"Hey guys, she's woken up!" he exclaimed. The others gathered around the TV and watched the story.

"Well, that was a bit short-lived," said Julian.

"Yeah, but we can still do _something _on it," said Chas. "How about we pay a visit to the hospital? I've got a friend who's a nurse there, so she might be able to give us some inside info. Then … who knows?" The others pondered this for a moment.

"Okay," said Julian. "Let's do it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_See what I've done? I'm making the link. Hopefully my muse will work harder on the next chapter._ _BTW Andrew's actually a fan of Doctor Who in real life, but for the sake of the story the show doesn't exist. Which actually screws up my connection with him, coz I never would have had much to do with him if it hadn't been for his very amusing Doctor Who clip. You can access it at www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v0s95Mm0cFqg _


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor and Rose ran through the hospital, the Doctor muttering about how "it should have a shop". 

"At least there aren't any cat nuns," sad Rose. "So, do we need to ask where Alexis is?"

"Not needed," the Doctor said. "I can use the sonic screwdriver the trace the Polygrite DNA back to the source, which at the moment is inside Alexis Bennet." The sonic screwdriver buzzed, and though Rose couldn't understand it, the Doctor seemed to know exactly what it was saying.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and heading into the lift.

"So what's the Polygrite's plan exactly?" asked Rose anxiously.

"Not a clue," said the Doctor. "Mind you, the other residents of Fankehreht weren't too thrilled about the Polygrites' possession powers. They were banished for it, cursed to find somewhere else to live."

"When was this?" asked Rose.

"It's 2007 now … so 2 years ago," said the Doctor.

"But how far away is Fank … Fanke … the planet?" said Rose.

"Oh, 100,000 light years?" estimated the Doctor. The lift doors opened, and they made their way towards Alexis' room.

"But how could they get here so fast?" asked Rose.

"When the Polygrites possess non-living objects, they can make them do just about anything," said the Doctor. "Suppose one or more of them infiltrated the engine of the spaceship they were banished in. Suppose it managed to increase the thrust to power the ship at many times the speed of light." The Doctor stopped in front of a room – room 302. He opened the door and walked in.

"Suppose they came to Earth," he finished. Alexis looked at him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said. "And who are you?"

"Er, Alexis Bennet," said the girl.

"No, you're not," said the Doctor. "You're a Polygrite. You possessed a china doll, then broke its head open so you could be released into a ten-year-old girl."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said 'Alexis'.

"I know all about the banishing," said the Doctor. "I was there when it happened. And hey, I know it feels. I was banished from my home planet too. But you can't take over a little girl's body. She's got her own life, and now you're taking that away from her." The Doctor walked up to the girl. "What's your name?" Alexis sighed.

"Areatha," she said. Rose took this moment to speak up.

"Areatha, that's a beautiful name," she said.

"It's not supposed to be beautiful!" cried Areatha. "It's meant to be tough! It's like on your planet, a name like … Bruce." Rose stopped dead.

"So, you're male?" she said.

"What, you think just coz I'm in a girl's body I have to be a girl myself?" Areatha said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any offence," said Rose. "Now I think about it, Areatha is a quite tough-sounding name."

"Okay Rose, that's enough," said the Doctor. "So Areatha, do you want to tell me your plan?"

"Why should I?" asked Areatha.

"Well, maybe I can help you find somewhere else," said the Doctor. "Surely there must be other planets you can go to, or other creatures you can possess."

"But humans have it so _easy_," said Areatha. "All you do is eat chips, go to bed and watch telly!"

"Where have I heard that before?" muttered Rose.

"True, but they enjoy what they do, well, most of them do," said the Doctor. "And it is a lot of hard work being a human. You've got to go to school, pass exams, get a job …"

"I have control of this body," said Areatha. "I can use it to do whatever I want. As soon as I'm ready I'll join the others, and then we can take over this rock once and for all! Mwahahahahah… oh crap." The Doctor turned to Rose and grinned.

"Typical villain, can't go a couple of minutes without mentioning their evil scheme," he said. He then turned back to Areatha. "You are right in saying that you are in control of this body. However, we're all alone in this room. Anything could happen to that body of yours. Well, it isn't yours, but still."

"Would you dare hurt a child?" asked Areatha.

"You're no child," said the Doctor. Just then the door burst open, and a woman, Alexis's aunt, ran in.

"Oh, you precious thing!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Areatha. "Don't worry, Auntie Carmel's here now. Now, what's this I hear about you breaking Chelsea? You'd only had her for a couple of hours …"

"Auntie Carmel, there are strangers in the room," said Areatha. Carmel turned around.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked. "Only Alexis's family can visit her." Her eyes trailed down to the remains of Chelsea in the Doctor's hand.

"The doll!" she cried. "Oh God! Well Alexis, I guess I'll have to get you another one."

"Where did you get the doll?" inquired the Doctor.

"It doesn't matter, now go away!" said Carmel.

"Please, tell me where," repeated the Doctor.

"Look, I don't …" began Carmel, but the Doctor took her shoulders and stared at her, his faces only inches away from her own.

"Listen to me," he said. "I'm saying this for the last time – where did you buy the doll?"

"A warehouse in the city," said Carmel, her body shaking. "I think it's the one where they used to do those rug clearance things. Now they're selling china dolls, and they're going cheap too." The Doctor let go of her.

"Thank you," he said calmly. "Let's go Rose." As they turned to leave, the Doctor whispered in Rose's ear.

"Ploygrite plan – hide inside dolls, get sold to kids, possess kids," he summarised. Rose nodded and they opened the door, only to be greeted by Andrew, Craig, and some other people they didn't know. It was the rest of the Chaser team.

"Oh, hello again," said Andrew.

"Hi," said the Doctor. "Um, you can't go in there."

"It's okay, we got clearance," said Chas, holding up a pass.

"No, you don't understand," said the Doctor, pulling them to one side. "There is something going on with that girl that's not right. I know your tiny human brains might have a hard time processing it …"

"Hang on, we've got uni degrees you know," said Julian. The Doctor sighed.

"Okay," he said. "Alexis Bennet is being possessed by a gaseous alien who was originally hiding inside her china doll. There's a warehouse full of these dolls, all containing aliens planning to take over the earth. Rose and I are going to find this warehouse and save the world." He paused. "And you … are going to help us." The boys just stood there, gaping.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Some friends of mine actually go to the high school that Julian went to - a private Catholic school. Anywho, review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_This chapter was kinda hard to write, and it's a little short. However, I was determined to get it up. I've noticed that a lot of people have put this on Story Alert, so I'm trying to update as frequently as possible. So, enjoy!_

On the way to the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose filled the Chaser team in on as much they could. Of course, the boys didn't believe any of it. That was until they reached the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the door.

"Oh my god! It's bigger on the inside!" exclaimed Andrew.

"Indeed it is," said the Doctor. "Do you believe us now?" The boys exchanged glances.

"Well," said Chas. "I guess it's possible."

"Hang on," said Julian. "Maybe it's a trap. Maybe he's really being possessed by a Polygrite and he's trying to pass it onto us!"

"Er, no," said the Doctor. "Actually, a Polygrite wouldn't be ale to possess me. My anatomy's far superior to anything it'd be used to. It wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Wait, your anatomy?" questioned Craig.

"Oh, didn't I mention?" said the Doctor. "I'm an alien. A Time Lord, to be more specific."

"Don't worry, he's not really a big green thing with tentacles or anything," assured Rose.

"Blimey," said Chris. "I hope you understand, but this is a bit much for us to take in. It's not every day that you meet an alien."

"Actually, you know your Prime Minister … actually never mind," said the Doctor. "So, let's get into this. First of all, would everyone follow me to the med bay please."

"You mean there's more?" said Chas in wonder. They walked through the TARDIS until they reached the med bay. The Doctor went to the cupboard at the back of the room and took out 6 facemasks.

"Put these on," he instructed, tossing a mask to the Chaser and Rose.

"What do they do?" asked Rose.

"If we're going to stop the Polygrites, we're obviously going to be in contact with them. By covering your mouth and nose, you're blocking their chances of possessing you." The others gulped and wasted no time putting the masks on.

"Now," said the Doctor. "Alexis' aunt said the dolls were being stored and sold from a warehouse around here. Would you guys know anything about that?" Some chuckles were heard from beneath the Chaser's masks. Andrew lifted his up.

"Do we ever!" he said. "I have a whole segment based on the guy who advertises products (usually rugs) from a warehouse in the city. We've been down there for filming a couple of times."

"You should hear his impression, he sounds just like the guy," said Craig.

"Maybe later," said the Doctor. "But if you guys could tell me the location of the warehouse it'd really help."

"Sure," said Julian. They made their way back to the console room.

"Okay, let's hear it," said the Doctor. Julian told him the address, and the Doctor started pushing buttons and pulling levers.

"What's he doing?" Chas asked Rose.

"Beats me," said Rose, shrugging. "I've been travelling with him for about a year, and I still don't understand half the stuff that goes on." Andrew leaned towards her and whispered in her ear.

"Too busy checking out the pilot?" he asked suggestively. Rose blushed.

"Something like that," she murmured. Just then the sound of the TARDIS engines rang through the room, which shook from side to side. The Chaser boys fell down, on top of one another.

"Get off me!" exclaimed Chris, who was at the bottom of the pack.

"Who's hand is that?" asked Andrew.

"Er, that's not my hand," said Julian.

"Come on guys, stop mucking about," said Rose, helping the guys up. "Well, we've landed."

"Yep, right outside the warehouse," said the Doctor, looking at the scanner screen. "There doesn't seem to be anyone around."

"Hang on, what's that sign say?" asked Rose, pointing to a small object on the screen. The Doctor zoomed in on it.

" 'Out making deliveries, be back soon'," he dictated. "Making deliveries. That means a whole new bunch of kids is going to get possessed."

"But the Polygrites aren't in the warehouse right now," said Chas. "Meaning we're free to check it out." The Doctor looked at Chas, surprised.

"You'd be that willing to just throw yourself into danger?" he said.

"Hey, we've done heaps more dangerous stuff than this," said Chas, a smile on his face.

"We're the Chaser team! We can handle anything." The Doctor grinned.

"Okay then," he said. "Shall we?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Review review review!_


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, followed by Rose and the Chaser team. The whole warehouse was full of china dolls. 

"Doctor, why dolls?" asked Rose. "Why couldn't they hide in something else?"

"Dolls are very easy to get inside," said the Doctor. "China dolls specifically. There's noting but air inside them, so it's perfect for them. Then once they're in the vicinity of the unsuspecting child, they control the doll and break it open, so they can get inside the child. They'll continue to do this all over the world, until they've taken over the planet."

"Amazing," commented Chris. "You've got to admire them for their planning."

"Trust me, I've come across more amazing plans than this before," said the Doctor as he picked up a doll and examined it. He gave it a tap on the head.

"Hmm," he murmured, putting it down. He then went to the side of the warehouse and picked out a box, which contained a doll. He took the doll out, and tapped that one on the head.

"What are doing that for?" asked Andrew.

"The other doll made a more hollow sound when I tapped it," said the Doctor. "This one's deeper and doesn't last as long. I think that means it's already possessed." He looked at the hundreds of dolls lined up across the walls. "I think … anything here that's in a box contains a Polygrite. The ones just strewn about the front don't."

"Er, Doctor, can the Polygrites hear us?" asked Rose. "Coz if there's a Polygrite in that doll you're holding, you just revealed to it that you know what's going on here."

"Ah," said the Doctor. "Good point." Just then the doll's arms stretched out towards the Doctor, and its legs started squirming. The Doctor's grip remained firm.

"You will not foil our plans!" the doll hissed. "We have worked too hard on this!"

"Are there any more warehouses?" the Doctor asked. "Is Sydney the only place you're settled?" The doll remained silent. "Tell me all you can if you want to live."

"Never!" exclaimed the doll. The Doctor lowered his eyes.

"Then I'm afraid I have no choice," he said. He closed his eyes and let the doll fall to the ground. The china broke instantly, and a small white cloud rose from the remains.

"Guys, this is what a Polygrite really looks like," the Doctor said.

"Murderer!" cried the cloud, before evaporating into the air.

"Oh my god," gasped Julian. "You killed it."

"I had no choice," said the Doctor solemnly. "It knew too much."

"And what about the rest of them?" asked Craig. "If they're looking on right now, what would they be thinking? Seven people wandering in, picking up dolls, smashing them, won't they get suspicious?"

"Actually they wouldn't be able to see," said the Doctor. "Those boxes have plastic on the front, which the Polygrites have a problem looking at."

"But it's transparent," said Chas.

"True, but it contains certain fibres that the Polygrites are allergic to," said the Doctor. "They don't react well to plastic, it causes their particles to come closer together, turning them into helpless moisture. Once there was a war between the Polygrites and the Autons, which are living plastic. It only lasted about half an hour, the Polygrites didn't stand a chance … but anyway, now I imagine they'd be under strict instructions not to look at the plastic. And they can't move, because there's a chance that they'll fall and the dolls will break, so they'll end up like their unfortunate friend here. They'll just have to sit tight and wait to be delivered. So …" The Doctor trailed off. The others were looking behind him. A van was just pulling up, the driver not having a lot of control over the car. Everyone hid behind a stack of boxes. The driver got out. He looked about forty, had short brown hair and was a bit tubby around the stomach area.

"Oh dear," the man said. "I'm sweating like a pig!" The man lifted up his arm and sniffed it.

"Ew!" he exclaimed. "I am soooooo having a shower!" As the man walked through a door, the Doctor and Rose looked at each other, then at the Chaser boys. It was Rose who spoke first.

"Is it just me, or did he seem a little … gay?" she asked awkwardly. The others exchanged glances.

"Not that there's anything wring with that," she added quickly. "It's just … the way he was speaking didn't really suit him."

"I agree," said Julian. "He doesn't look like the type you'd see at Mardi Gras. He kinda looked like he was uncomfortable in his body."

"Which means we've either got a transsexual on our hands …" concluded Chas, "… or a Polygrite." Andrew snuck up to the door the man had entered. He heard the sound of running water, and a few words that he could just make out. He walked back to the others.

"What did you hear?" asked Craig.

" 'Stupid human body chemistry'," quoted Andrew. "So he's a Polygrite. Except … he isn't a kid."

"It doesn't matter," said the Doctor. "The Polygrite could have been possessing someone in his family possibly, then have passed onto him."

"But that'd be like two people in one family going into comas," said Rose. "Wouldn't someone have gotten a bit suspicious?"

"Actually, the only report of someone going into a coma is Alexis," said Chas. "So if there are all these other people, how come we haven't been informed about it?" As Chas spoke, the wind carried a flyer towards the group. It fell into Chris' hands.

"Bingo," he said. He showed the others the flyer.

COME TO OUR ALL GIRLS' CAMP. SPEND FIVE NIGHTS WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS, AND MAKE SOME NEW ONES! PARENTS' EVENING ON NIGHT 4. FREE CHINA DOLL FOR EVERYONE WHO COMES!

"This says the camp started last month," said Chris. "And there are more coming up for every month into the new year."

"Market the dolls commercially, and meanwhile get plenty of new recruits on camp," said the Doctor. "The kids are away from home, from civilisation, so no one will know if they go into a coma or not. Then the parents come, and they can get possessed too. The Polygrites are just taking over the humans one by one. They won't stop until they've conquered the entire human race." He looked at the others. "Unless we stop them."


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry about the wait, I had some trouble getting inspired for this chapter. I got it in the end, but I warn you - this chapter is not humorous._

"Right, so what's the plan?" asked Chas. The Doctor scratched his head.

"Um …" he began.

"You don't have a plan?!" cried Craig frantically.

"Hey, I only found out about this at the same time as you," defended the Doctor.

"Okay, we could trash the place," suggested Andrew. "All the Polygrites will evaporate like that one just then."

"No, it wouldn't work," said the Doctor. "Firstly, it's not a long-term solution. Secondly, we wouldn't find out more about their plans. Thirdly, that's cold-blooded murder."

"That didn't seem to matter with you just now," muttered Julian. The Doctor turned to Julian and stared him in the face.

"Julian," he said. "I've had to make decisions no one should have to make. I've faced and witnessed more death than you could believe. My daily life revolves around playing with people's lives. And even after 900 years, it doesn't get any easier. But every decision I make, I make with what I believe to be my best judgement. So don't you talk to me about what matters." The Doctor backed off, leaving Julian dumbstruck. Rose bit her lip. As lovable as the Doctor was, when he was pushed too far he could get quite scary.

"Come on," she said. "Let's head back to the TARDIS. We'll figure something out there." She put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor turned and walked back to the TARDIS. Rose turned to the Chaser team.

"Um, did he say 900 years?" asked Chris.

"Yeah," said Rose. "That's his age. Give or take a few."

"And … is he always like that?" asked Andrew awkwardly.

"I won't lie, he can be," replied Rose. "He's been through so much, sometimes he'll snap at the smallest thing. Listen, I'll go have a talk with him. You guys stay out here and try to think of a plan or something." The guys nodded, and Rose walked into the TARDIS. The Doctor was standing over the central console, his head lowered. Although he didn't acknowledge it, he heard Rose come in.

"Hi," she said. The Doctor remained silent. Rose took a deep breath.

"Doctor, I know you don't want to talk about it, but if you could at least give me some idea of what the problem is we can move past this," she said. "There are five guys out there who are trying to help you, but you have to let them in." The Doctor turned to Rose and looked at her with that look where she swore she could see into his mind. She approached him and gave him a big hug. He held her tight, not wanting to let go.

"Come on," said Rose. "What Julian said wasn't that bad, at least not to the rest of us. What was it?" The Doctor sighed.

"It was a couple of things," he said. "For one thing, it brought back memories of the Time War. He reminded me that I murdered my own people."

"You didn't have a choice," said Rose. "And it's not like the Daleks were unarmed or anything. They would have killed you."

"Yeah, I suppose," said the Doctor. "But this is the main problem. You know how I said before that I was there when the Polygrites were banished?" Rose nodded. "Well, I sort of had something to do with that. I was on Fankehreht with a former companion of mine, Jess (**A/N **Not an actual companion, I just made her up then). She was only a young thing, she was 17 when she started travelling with me. Anyway, we were on Fankehreht together. It was just meant to be a holiday. But we found out about the Polygrites and what they could do. Jess was really opposed to it. She wanted to find a way for the Polygrites to live without taking over other people. A real humanitarian she was. Then one night, our hotel room was infiltrated by a Polygrite. It entered Jess's body. I was meeting with the planet officials at the time and didn't get back 'til late, so when I did get back I thought she was just asleep. It was the next day when I realised something was wrong. She'd been asleep for over 13 hours. Her temperature was through the roof. Her pulse was going crazy. She started shaking violently like she was having a fit. Sweat poured down her face. I sent for help, but … by then it was too late." A single tear made its way down the Doctor's face. "She died. She was just a kid, and the Polygrite killed her."

"Oh Doctor, that's terrible," said Rose. "But why did she die? Why didn't the Polygrite get control of her body?"

"I worked it out later," the Doctor said. "It's because she was a teenager. Changes going on in her body, raging hormones … the Polygrite couldn't handle it. So anyway, I told the officials that something needed to be done. Truth be told, I wanted the Polygrites dead for what they did, even though it was only that one that killed Jess. I thought they were too dangerous for themselves to handle. The officials, of course, thought my idea was too violent. So instead, they banished them." Rose was lost for words. She'd had no idea that the Doctor already had some experience with Polygrites, and such a terrible one at that.

"Doctor, why didn't you tell me this before?" she asked.

"I guess I thought I could move on," answered the Doctor. "I thought I could change. I thought I could be stronger than before. But I guess I can't."

"No," said Rose. "You're wrong. You _are _stronger. You're helping this planet. You're helping Alexis. You're making up for your past actions by trying to put things right. Doctor, you're the strongest, most amazing person I know." Rose gave the Doctor a reassuring smile. He walked up to her and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"Ditto, Rose Tyler," he said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Please review, and I'll try to update soon._


	10. Chapter 10

_It took me a while to get started on this chapter, but luckily I got a nice burst of inspiration. _

"Man, that guy's got issues," said Chas.

"Give him a break, we don't know what the poor guy's been through," said Andrew. "I'm sure Rose will fix him up. There's a real vibe between those two."

"Hmm, I wondered why they wanted us to stay out here," said Craig. "Maybe they're …"

"Please don't finish that sentence," said Chris. "Come on, the Doctor's relying on us to save the world, and we're wasting time. So what do we know about the Polygrites?"

"They're allergic to plastic," said Julian.

"They can possess practically anything," said Andrew.

"The bodies of living things shut down if they're possessing them," added Chas.

"They're not stupid," said Craig. "They know a bit about Earth, and they know how to get victims."

"They're sensitive about their personal hygiene," said Julian. The others looked at him.

"Well, at least that one in the shower is," he defended. "Say, maybe we can get some info off him. Has anyone got any plastic on them?"

"Surely it'd take more than the touch of plastic to do something to them," reasoned Andrew. "At least while they're in a human body."

"We don't want to do kill him, we just want to threaten him," said Julian. The others looked around for something, anything they could use. Chas's eyes landed on a vending machine in the corner of the warehouse, full of bottles of Powerade. He wiped his brow, suddenly aware of the December heat.

"Hey, has anyone got $2.50 for a drink?" he asked.

"Chas, this is hardly the time," said Craig. "We're trying to save the planet here."

"But it's just … so hot in here," said Chas.

"Hey yeah, it is," said Andrew, who experimentally stepped outside, then back in. "It's gotta be at least 5 degrees hotter in here than out there. Where's that heat coming from?"

"Look!" exclaimed Chris. "A heater!" They gathered around the source of the heat.

"Please, turn it off!" said Andrew.

"Wait … we can use this," said Julian. "If we can melt one of those drink bottles, we can get it down to liquid form. Surely if the Polygrite drinks it it'd affect it more."

"Brilliant!" said Craig. "Then Chris can approach the guy and try to find out the plans!"

"Yeah … hey, why me?" asked Chris.

"Well I'm not going near him," said Craig.

"Neither am I," said Chas.

"Nor me," said Julian. Chris looked at Andrew pleadingly.

"Please Andrew," he said. Andrew slowly nodded as an idea formed in his mind.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan," he said. "Okay, first of all, let's melt these bottles!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rose and the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS. As they approached the Chaser boys, they noticed that Chris and Andrew were missing.

"Where are Chris and Andrew?" Rose asked.

"Investigating," explained Chas. "Don't worry, they've got weaponry. We've been melting down Powerade bottles from that vending machine to create liquid plastic."

"Clever," admitted the Doctor. "Where have you been storing this liquid plastic?"

"In normal unmelted Powerade bottles," said Julian. "Hey Doctor, I'm sorry for what I said before."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said the Doctor. "I just had some stuff I had to get out of my system."

"Oh, good," said Julian. "Say, aren't you boiling in that coat?"

"I am a bit, yeah," confessed the Doctor. "Hmm, I wonder why it's so hot?"

"Oh, there's a heater on in here," said Craig. "We were using it to melt the bottles." The Doctor nodded, then suddenly his eyes darted towards Craig.

"A heater?" he repeated.

"Yeah, it must have been on before we got here," said Craig, pointing to the heater. The Doctor darted over to the heater and peered into it. For a moment Rose was worried he was going to lick it.

"Of course," murmured the Doctor, standing up. "The average temperature on Fankehreht is usually about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), so they've got the heater on here. But Sydney in summer is still quite hot … yes!" The Doctor spun around, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Sydney!" he exclaimed. "They've settled in Sydney!"

"Er, we know," said Chas.

"But why?" asked the Doctor. "I'll tell you why. Sydney is hot."

"Darwin's hotter," said Julian. "And all year round, too."

"Ah, but Sydney is a major population centre!" said the Doctor. "Millions of people all crammed into one little area. It's forever busy and full of culture, shopping and everything else! Events like play and musicals going on all the time."

"Like Chris's comedic musical _Dead Caesar_, playing for a short time only," spruiked Julian.

"What's to stop a group of Polygrites from possessing the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, then taking over whole audiences?" continued the Doctor. "Then there are tourists, like those Japanese people we saw earlier, school excursions and days out, like the Cheltenham girls … all coming to one place. The Polygrites have planned this very carefully. They specifically targeted Sydney. And I think, luckily, Sydney's the only place they're interested in right now. I think we've come fairly early on the whole scheme. If only we knew what the rest of their plans were."

"Well, Chris and Andrew are finding that out as we speak," said Craig.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_As it happens, I got my inspiration just as the Doctor got his. Um, I hope that wasn't too confusing for you non-Aussies. Anywho, please review. _


	11. Chapter 11

_I would have gotten this done sooner, but I had my wisdom teeth out the other day and I just wasn't up to it. Thank you for your reviews, and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)_

Chris and Andrew cautiously approached the door.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Chris.

"No," replied Andrew. "But what's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, the guy could kill us," Chris said. "He could hit us over the head with a chair, he could beat us up …"

"This is the same guy that was commenting on how he was sweating like a pig," reminded Andrew, who then turned to his friend. "Don't be so pessimistic. Remember, you've done some pretty crazy stuff over the years. Dressing up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, offering cracked pepper to random strangers, that in-bed scene with that old lady …"

"What's your point?" asked Chris.

"That you've taken risks in the past," said Andrew. "You've done things that other people wouldn't dare do. Things that were hard at the time, but paid off in the end. This isn't any different. We're just taking another risk now, and we're going to get through it. Just think of it as a stunt for the show."

"Wow Andrew," said Chris. "That was really inspiring." He smiled, a newly found courage in his heart that was about more than just doing things for cheap laughs. This was for the planet, and though it was his job to make fun of that planet as much as possible, he still loved it.

"Okay, I'm ready," he said. Andrew nodded, and they faced the door. Chris knocked. A moment later, it was answered by the man they'd seen before.

"Yes? Yes?" the man said impatiently. Chris took a deep breath.

"Hello sir," he said. "Are you associated with the selling of the china dolls out front?" The man's eyes narrowed.

"What's it to you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, we have an exciting offer for you," said Chris, thinking how Julian would do this so much better. "With the use of this warehouse, you are eligible for the free use of the advertising system that comes with it."

"Oh yes?" said the man, raising an eyebrow. "Well we could always use some help getting the product on the market. Sales aren't as high as we'd like. I suppose you'd better come in." Chris and Andrew followed the guy inside, and they sat down.

"So what's this system then?" the guy asked.

"It's The Crazy Warehouse Guy!" exclaimed Chris. "Nothing can attract attention better. Just imagine you're in front of the TV and there have been loads of really boring ads. Then suddenly …" He pointed to Andrew, who opened his mouth.

"COME DOWN TO OUR WAREHOUSE FOR OUR MASSIVE CLEARANCE SALE!" Andrew shouted. "WE'VE GOT PILE AFTER PILE OF CHINA DOLLS FROM PRICES AS LOW AS … what are you selling them for?"

"Er, five dollars," said the guy, who had his hands over his ears.

"FIVE DOLLARS! FIVE DOLLARS! THIS PRICE IS NEVER TO BE REPETED! FIVE DOLLARS! THESE DOLLS ARE PRACTICALLY WALKING OUT THE DOOR (_And they can, coz they're possessed, _he thought), SO GET DOWN TO THE CITY BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!" Andrew crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do you think?" he asked. The guy looked at him.

"I think you'd better leave," he said.

"Oh well, we tried," said Chris, getting up. "Tough luck Andrew. This guy just doesn't understand our method of advertising. He probably thought you were being _possessed_." The man looked at them.

"Yeah, I get it," said Andrew. "The way we advertise our products is probably completely _alien _to him." The man gulped.

"Please leave now," he said.

"Look Andrew, this guy's _banishing _us," said Chris. That was the last straw. The guy charged at them. But they quickly got out their bottles.

"Stop right there," said Andrew, slowly walking towards the guy. "This bottle contains liquid plastic, which we know will kill you."

"Wh-what do you want?" stammered the guy.

"Information," said Chris. "What is your name?"

"Kranskonaut."

"Right," said Chris. "And you're a Polygrite."

"Yes," said Kranskonaut. "And for the record, I'm a female. I didn't want to possess this guy, he's so fat and ugly, but I did what I had to for the survival of my people."

"That doesn't justify taking over the human race," said Andrew. "It's not like these are the only measures you could have taken. There are plenty of options."

"But this is the easiest," said Kranskonaut. "You humans are so gullible and naïve. You're like children compared to us."

"Yeah, well have you ever seen _Home Alone_?" challenged Chris.

"No," said Kranskonaut bluntly.

"Ah," said Chris. "But still, we've outsmarted you. And now you're going to tell us everything." Kranskonaut looked at them helplessly.

"Okay," she (for it really was a she) said.


	12. Chapter 12

_Sorry it's been a while. My life's been kinda full recently (right now I'm waiting for my dad to help me with my homework lol). To be honest, going into this chapter I'd forgotten what the aliens were called! Anyway …_

"They're taking a while," commented Julian. "I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," assured the Doctor. "Polygrites are fairly harmless creatures, or at least they were originally. It's just that they've always had to survive by possessing other things, none of which have liked the idea. So the Polygrites had to rely on each other for support. They can't trust anyone else."

"Jeez, that must be tough," said Craig.

"Yeah, but at least they've got their own people," said the Doctor, sighing. Rose put her arm around him.

"Hey, you've got me," she told him. The Doctor turned to her and gave her a small smile. Just then, Chris and Andrew came out of the door.

"How'd it go?" asked Chas.

"Er, pretty good," said Chris. "We seemed to convince Kranskonaut, the Polygrite that is, to tell us quite a bit about the plans. We told her we had powers that would be no match for the Polygrites, and that she could live peacefully on Earth if she negotiated. She agreed."

"Great," said the Doctor. "While you were gone we actually figured some stuff out as well, but anything extra would be useful. So what are the plans?"

"Okay," said Andrew. "They've settled in Sydney because …"

"We know," the others said. "The temperature … the social events …"

"Oh … yeah" said Andrew. "Okay, but they're also planning to take over the rest of the world, the main problem being that the average temperature on Fankehreht is 37 degrees Celsius and there are lots of places on Earth that are much colder than this."

"So they'll turn the heater on," said Craig.

"Well, sort of," said Chris. "But there's more to it than that. What happens when you turn a heater on?"

"It gets warm," said Chas.

"But not just in the room," realised the Doctor. "It adds to the greenhouse effect, which increases global warming."

"Global warming?" said Rose. "So they're gonna heat up the planet to make it liveable for them?"

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "Mind you, even keeping a heater on 24/7 won't do much to increase the temperature, at least not in the short-term. And if they possess children with parents, the parents will just tell them to stop wasting electricity or something like that."

"Apparently those people who are currently possessed are doing just that," said Andrew. "But the Polygrites have bigger plans."

"Which are?" asked Julian. Andrew sighed.

"Kranskonaut refuses to tell us more while she's stuck in the body she's in now," said Andrew. "She says she'll only help us more if she can be in a form she can be proud of. A form that doesn't make her embarrassed to be seen in public. A form she can somewhat relate to."

"And what does that mean?" asked Craig. Andrew bit his lip and turned to Rose. He didn't even have to speak. The Doctor held Rose close to him.

"No," he said defiantly. "I'm not letting it happen."

"Wouldn't that mean that we've gotta wait so many hours for the Polygrite to adjust and stuff?" enquired Julian.

"Apparently Kranskonaut is one of few Polygrites who can adjust to people really quickly," Chris explained. "She said it'd take 10 minutes max to take over."

"But can we trust her word?" asked Chas. "She could be lying."

"It doesn't matter, they're not having her," said the Doctor.

"Doctor, we don't have much of a choice," said Andrew. "We need to know how to stop the Polygrites, and Kranskonaut has the information."

"So you just go back in there and remind her about the liquid plastic you've got," said the Doctor.

"We've tried! She. Won't. Talk!" emphasised Chris. "And we'd really rather not kill her."

"Where is she now?" the Doctor asked.

"Tied to a chair," said Andrew. "And don't worry, we've put masking tape on her mouth so she can't escape."

"I'll have a word with her," said the Doctor. He went to leave, but Rose clung onto him.

"Don't I get a say in this?" she asked. The Doctor looked at her.

"Rose, I can't let you do this," he said. "I've already lost one companion to the Polygrites, I'm not about to lose another."

"I'll be fine," Rose said. "I'm not sure how long I've been travelling with you, but I can definitely say that my 20th birthday's passed. I'm no longer a teenager, so my body chemistry should be under control." The Doctor looked into Rose's eyes.

"I just … care about you," he said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't," said Rose. "Not as long as you're around."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hope you liked the chapter. Please review!_


	13. Chapter 13

Rose gulped as she, with the others alongside her, entered the room. Kranskonaut was sitting tied to a chair, with tape around her mouth.

"Okay Kranskonaut, we've got a volunteer," said Chris. "What do you think?" Kranskonaut made a thumbs up sign with her free hand.

"Really?" said Rose. "You don't think I'm too … common?" Kranskonaut shook her head, and Rose smiled.

"Take that Cassandra!" she exclaimed. The Chaser boys looked at her.

"Long story," she said. "Okay, I'm ready." The Doctor turned to her.

"You don't have to do this," he said.

"I know," said Rose. "But the Polygrites are doing whatever they can to ensure their species survives, so I'll do whatever I can for my species." The Doctor nodded and gave Rose a hug. He then approached Kranskonaut.

"I hope you understand what's happening here," he said. "You only have permission to be inside my friend's body for as long as it takes for us to stop your race from taking over the world. Got it?" Kranskonaut nodded. The Doctor took a deep breath and released the tape from Kranskonaut's mouth. Instantly the white gas that was Kranskonaut flew out of the man she was possessing and into Rose. Rose stood there for a moment, before collapsing into unconsciousness. The Doctor ran over to her and supported her body as it fell towards the ground. He gently laid her down, a look of worry and admiration in his eyes as he did so. Meanwhile, the Chaser boys watched the man that previously held Kranskonaut. He began to moan, and his head swang from side to side.

"Er, Doctor?" said Chas. "This guy's moaning and sweating and not looking good." The Doctor left Rose and walked over.

"It's just his body's natural reaction," he said. "After not having control for so long, it needs to re-adjust. Look, he's coming round." They watched as the man slowly opened his eyes. He looked at them, then looked around.

"C-can you hear me?" asked Julian. The guy stared at him.

"Where the bloody hell am I?" he said. "Where's my beer? Who the hell are you lot?"

"Calm down sir," said the Doctor. "I'm a doctor, I can help. What's your name?"

"What does a stupid Pom like you care?" the guy asked. "Who tied me to this chair?"

"Please," said Andrew. "We're here to help. Just answer the Doctor's questions." The man looked at Andrew, then scanned the faces of the others.

"Hey, you're those blokes off the telly!" the guy exclaimed. "The Chaser team! Oh man, you guys are hilarious! So what, is this a stunt or something?" The Doctor went to reply, but Chris put a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, that's what it is," he said. "It's um, testing the public's memory." Craig caught on.

"Yeah," he said, leaning down to untie the man. "So first of all, what's your name?"

"Barry Brown, but you can call me Baz," the guy replied.

"Okay Baz," said Craig. "So what's the last thing you remember?" Baz thought for a moment.

"I was at home," he recalled. "I was putting my feet up and having a beer. My wife and kids had just left for her mum's for a few days, and I wanted to use the time I had to relax. So I switched on the telly to the cricket, unscrewed the lid off my beer, had a swig … and then I woke up here. Wait a sec, did you guys spike my beer?" Immediately everyone started shaking their heads. "Then who did? What's happened since then? How much time has passed?" A look of horror passed over his face. "Did I miss the cricket?" The Doctor bit his lip.

"I'm afraid it's a bit hard to explain," he said.

"Oh sure, I'm just a good-for-nothing bogan truckie who won't understand," said Baz, crossing his arms. "I know your type. You just look down on everyone around you like they're kids, just coz they didn't fork out 20 grand for a degree. Listen, I might not be the smartest bloke around, but I'm not an idiot." The Doctor and the Chaser boys exchanged glances. They knew this guy was serious, but they also knew that he probably wasn't going to respond well to the idea that he'd been possessed by an alien. They were just standing there, when a moan was heard. The Doctor turned around. Rose, or technically Kranskonaut, was waking up. The Doctor rushed over to her.

"Pulse is fine … temperature's fairly normal …" he murmured as he checked her.

"Oi mate, I'm still waiting," said Baz. The Doctor stood up and turned to him.

"We didn't spike your beer," he said. "I think I know who did, but I'm not 100 percent sure. I don't know how much time has passed, but I think it's been a while. You did miss the cricket. And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. But I'm doing everything in my power to stop it and get everything back to normal. I'm afraid that's all I can say." Baz looked at the Doctor.

"Okay," he said. "In that case, I'd better get home. Um, where am I?" As Julian gave Baz directions, the Doctor turned back to Kranskonaut, who was just about conscious. Even though it wasn't really Rose he was looking at, he smiled. At least she was still in there somewhere.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Yes," whispered Kranskonaut, slowly sitting up. "Oo, this _is_ nice. Good skin, nice hair … oh!" Kranskonaut looked down at her chest. "That's more like it! It was just nasty being inside a man that had these, but now I feel much better."

"Good," said the Doctor. "And I'm sure you'd love to tell that man about how you took over his body through a bottle of beer."

"Ah, yes," said Kranskonaut. "In the early stages of the operation, we thought of going inside beer bottles. I was chosen to be the first to do so. Let me tell you – it was not a pleasant experience."

"That man has a family," said the Doctor, ignoring Kranskonaut. "How long has it been since he saw them?" Kranskonaut shrugged. "How can you be so callous? How can you do casually decide to just take over people's lives? Doesn't it hurt you to know that people are missing out on living the precious gift of life because someone else has taken it from them?" Kranskonaut looked down.

"Why do you think I'm helping you?" she said quietly. "Why do you think I'm betraying my people? I wanted to live, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal doing what we did … but I was wrong. I hate that I've been banished from my own planet. I hate that we've basically got to scavenge for living creatures to possess just so we can survive. But most of all … I hate what we've become. I'm sorry for giving you the impression that I didn't care about human life, because I do. After seeing the lengths you've gone to to protect this world, I've realised we don't belong here. I just want to go out in style, to enjoy the small amount of time I have left. Is that too much to ask?" The Doctor looked into the eyes that previously held his companion. He could just about see Kranskonaut inside them, pleading with him. But most of all, he could see Rose, telling him what she'd want him to do.

"Okay, I believe you," he said. "So, what are the Polygrites' plans?"


	14. Chapter 14

_Sorry for the wait. _

As soon as Baz left, everyone gathered round Kranskonaut, who began talking.

"Right," she said. "Well, as you know, my people are planning on settling on planet Earth. But first we have to make it warmer."

"Because the average temperature on Fankehreht is quite warm," said Julian.

"Yes," confirmed Kranskonaut. "We had watched your planet from space, and noticed a hole in the ozone layer around it. So … we decided to build a device to expand that hole."

"What!" exclaimed Chas. "But you can't!"

"What sort of device?" asked the Doctor.

"A giant laser," replied Kranskonaut. "We planned on using it to fire at the area where the hole is weakest, thereby wearing that area away and expanding the hole. We'd keep doing that until it there wasn't anywhere on Earth that was protected."

"Um, I don't mean to burst your bubble," said Andrew. "but that doesn't sound like the best plan. The hole lets in not only heat, but UV radiation. If you were possessing human bodies, you'd open yourself up to skin cancer and stuff."

"Yeah," said Julian. "Plus the dams would dry up, leaving you without water. And the polar ice caps would melt, flooding the world!" They looked at Kranskonaut, who replied, "What's skin cancer?" The Doctor nodded.

"Of course," he said. "You made the plans before you came to Earth, so you didn't know much about it."

"But surely in the time you've spent on Earth, you must have learnt a bit about what was going on?" said Craig.

"We were ordered to stay away from any Earth media and other influences," explained Krankonaut. "Our leader told us it would distract us from our main goal."

"Whoa, back up there," said the Doctor. "What leader?"

"When we were banished, the first thing we did was try to think of plans for our continued survival," said Kranskonaut. "One of the older Polygrites assigned himself the role of leader, and we had no problem with that. He seemed to know exactly what he wanted, so we decided to follow his idea."

"And none of you knew any better, because you didn't know anything about Earth," surmised the Doctor. "So you just went ahead with it."

"Why should we know anything about Earth?" asked Kranskonaut. "It's 100,000 light-years away from Fankehreht! Actually … how do you know so much about my planet?"

"That's not important," said the Doctor quickly. "Right now I want to know about your leader and this laser."

"Er, okay," said Kranskonaut. "Our leader is called Walkimini. He was never the most social being, but he's extremely smart. He was also the most devastated when we were banished. He led protests and everything, but he was unsuccessful. So after our ship had taken off, he told us immediately what had to be done. He told us we had to take over a new planet, and he knew just the one."

"Earth," uttered Julian.

"The rest of us knew a little bit about Earth," said Kranskonaut. "We knew what it looked like from space, what sort of properties it had … and we also knew what sort of life forms inhabited it. You see, the reason we were banished was because one particular Polygrite possessed a young Earth girl, who ended up dying. But anyway, when we arrived here we were each given things to do. The majority of the population was to possess the dolls. My job was to deliver the dolls. A few others had to deal with importing the dolls. And Walkimini was to work on the laser. He has a few associates to get the necessary materials and everything, but he made it very clear to us that he didn't want us going near it until it was ready."

"How will he notify you?" asked Chris.

"Oh, a friend of mine is possessing a radio announcer named Kyle Sandilands," said Kranskonaut. "He sounds out cryptic messages on the radio to let us know what's going on. But … back to what you said before, about the world flooding and stuff. Do you mean to say that this laser won't do what Walkimini said it would do?"

"Oh it'll do it all right," said the Doctor. "It'll do that, and a whole lot more."

"Doctor, we have to stop this guy," said Craig.

"Yes," agreed the Doctor. "Kransko-" He stopped dead. Kranskonaut was looking at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"What did you say?" she asked. "Did you say _Doctor?_"

"Yeah," said Craig. "What's the problem?" The Doctor gulped.

"Kranskonaut …" he began.

"I can't believe it!" cried Kranskonaut. "It's you! The Doctor! _You're_ the reason we were banished!"

"You were banished because you killed my friend," said the Doctor. "And I'm sorry that you had to leave your planet, but invading Earth isn't the answer. Now could you please tell us where Walkimini is?"

"Hell no!" exclaimed Kranskonaut. "Do you honestly believe I'm going to hand over our plans to the reason we're on this rock, the reason I had to spend months in the body of a big, fat, ugly human?"

"But you said you'd help us!" said Andrew.

"That was before I knew who you really were," said Kranskonaut. "Now I'm afraid the situation's changed."

"But think about what Walkimini's doing," said the Doctor. "The laser…"

"The laser will give our people a chance to live!" proclaimed Kranskonaut. "A chance to be free! Whatever you said about it, I'm sure Walkimini will defend with a better argument."

"But…"

"No buts! I thought you wanted to help me become a better Polygrite, but now I know better. You just want to finish what you started." Kranskonaut looked at the Doctor coldly. It hurt the Doctor deeply not only seeing her anger, but seeing it through Rose's eyes.

"What about Rose?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.

"A friend of the Doctor's is an enemy of the Polygrites," stated Kranskonaut. "However, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to live in it. This'll be a very nice body to live out the rest of my days." Before anyone could stop her, Kranskonaut got up and ran out the door. The Doctor desperately got up and sprinted after her, but she was just too fast. He watched hopelessly as she ran away, until she was just a speck in the distance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Bet you weren't expecting that!_


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the wait. This one chapter's a little short, but the next one's almost finished, so it should be up soon._

Kranskonuat ran as fast as she could.

"Can't … believe … so … stupid!" she gasped as she turned a corner, narrowly avoiding a mother and child. She looked back behind her, but she couldn't see the Doctor anywhere. She leaned against a brick wall and tried to catch her breath.

"How … do humans … live with these … lungs?" she said to herself, attracting a few glances from members of the public. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she thought of what she had to do next. She obviously had to tell Walkimini of what she'd done. She knew he'd be mad, but she'd have to face up to him. Hopefully he'd know what to do about the Doctor. But she couldn't help thinking about what the Doctor had said. Why would Walkimini build something that would destroy the Earth? She looked around, and slowly started walking towards the secret entrance to the place where Walkimini kept the laser. Apparently in all the time the Polygrites had been on Earth, he'd never taken a step outside. The lair itself was underground, under the sea in fact. But it was easily accessible if you knew where to go. All you had to do was go into the underground tunnel, then get out at a certain junction point. A door had been built into the wall, but it required a secret knock in order to open. Kranskonaut smiled at the memories of making the plans. It had seemed so exciting at the time. Well, it still was exciting, but it was still hard to get excited about destroying one race so your own could live.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kranskonaut approached the door, and gave it 3 hard solid knocks. It instantly swung open, to reveal a dark corridor that was lit by eerie green light. She heard the _drip drip _of water as she entered. The corridor seemed to go on forever, until at last she entered a huge room, and saw her great leader in the centre, admiring the giant laser he'd built. He looked up and, upon seeing her, took out a gun.

"Walkmini, don't shoot. It's me, Kranskonaut," Kranskonaut said. "I found a different body. A good one too."

"Yes, indeed it is," said Walkimini, putting away his gun. He had taken over the body of a homeless person, a man in his early 60s, with a croaky voice and stringy grey hair. "Kranskonaut, I told you to only come here if the laser was ready. I haven't sent any messages out, so why are you here?"

"I've done a … terrible thing," Kranskonaut said. "I was captured by a group of humans who knew about our plans. They told me to tell them the full story so they could save the Earth."

"And did you?" asked Walkimini.

"I started to," confessed Kranskonaut. "I was just so scared, I didn't know what to do. That's how I got this body, I sort of made them exchange it for the rest of our plans. But then … I found out the identity of one of them. Walkimini, it was the Doctor." Walkimini stood up to his full height.

"_The _Doctor! The Doctor that's the reason we're here!" he cried.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry," said Kranskonaut. "As soon as I found out I escaped, and made my way straight here to tell you."

"You've ruined my plans!" exclaimed Walkimini.

"No, not totally," said Kranskonaut. "They don't know where you are." Walkimini stroked his chin.

"Perhaps … if I give them back that body you're in, they'll leave?" he suggested.

"I don't know," said Kranskonaut. "Probably not, though." Walkimini circled the laser.

"I'm angry," he said. "I'm very angry."

"I understand," said Kranskonaut. "Um, sir, this may not be the best time, but the Doctor told me that this laser won't just make the planet warmer. He said it'd practically destroy the planet!" Walkimini looked at her.

"Are you saying you take his word over mine?" he asked her, leaning in.

"No no, of course not," stammered Kranskonaut. "It's just..."

"Don't you trust me?" questioned Walkmini.

"Of course I do," said Kranskonaut.

"Then you'll trust my judgement," said Walkimini. "And you'll know that everything I've done, I've done for the Polygrite race." Kranskonaut lowered her head.

"I'm sorry Walkimini," she said. "I should have known better."

"That's right," said Walkimini. "Okay, here's what we're going to do…"


	16. Chapter 16

The Doctor trudged back to the warehouse. The Chaser boys were waiting outside.

"What happened?" asked Chas. The Doctor briefly looked at him, before turning and entering the TARDIS.

"What'd you do that for?" said Julian. "Kranskonaut obviously outran him."

"Jeez, sorry," said Chas. "I just thought…"

"No, you didn't think," said Julian. "You shouldn't have had to ask him. You should have been able to read the signals."

"I barely know the guy!" defended Chas.

"Come on, it's not that hard to tell when someone's feeling down," said Chris.

"But Chas is right," said Craig. "We've only known the Doctor for a few hours. Rose knew him better than anyone. You could tell from the way she looked at him. Now she's gone, no wonder he's so upset." As they continued to talk, the Doctor watched them from inside the TARDIS. He wiped a tear from his eye. He'd told Rose not to let Kranskonaut take her body, but she let her anyway, because she'd had faith in the Doctor. Now he'd let her down. Not only that, but there was a Polygrite out there in the possession of a laser capable of as good as destroying the Earth. It was at times like this that being the last Time Lord had its disadvantages.

_Come on Doctor_, he thought to himself. _You've gotten out of worse messes than this before. Think, what are your assets? _

_1. Five guys who know the area._

_2. A general idea of the Polygrites' plans. _

_3. …_

The Doctor strained his brain to think of something else that would help him. He had the TARDIS, of course, but without any idea where Walkimini or Kranskonaut was, that wasn't much help. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The Doctor opened it to the Chaser boys.

"Doctor," said Andrew. "We've been talking, and we think we may have found a way to track down Kranskonaut."

"What is it?" asked the Doctor.

"Well …" began Chris, "… Kranskonaut mentioned that there was a Polygrite possessing the body of Kyle Sandilands. He's this radio host that no one likes, by the way, but anyway, if we could get our hands on him then we may have a chance." The Doctor's eyes shined.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "You guys are just brilliant!"

"Er, thanks," said Chris.

"No, really," said the Doctor. "I mean … this is just … I'm going to hug you all now. Is that okay?" The boys shrugged, leaving the Doctor open to wrap his arms around each of them.

"Oh thank you," the Doctor continued to mutter as he moved from Chas to Julian.

"Hey, don't mention it," Julian replied uneasily. "The thing is … we don't actually know where he broadcasts from." The Doctor pulled back.

"Ah," he said.

"But we can find out," assured Craig. "And remember, Kranskonaut said this other Polygrite was sending messages about their plans through the radio, so maybe we'll pick something up."

"Good thinking," said the Doctor. "Right, inside the TARDIS, all of you." The guys shuffled in as the Doctor closed the door. "Okay, anyone got a radio?" Before they could respond, the Doctor had already started programming the TARDIS to pick up on the local radio waves.

"The station's 104.1," chipped in Chas.

"Thanks," said the Doctor. "And … there we go." They all listened as the signal started coming through. It was the song _Straight Lines _be Silverchair, which was now the most commonly played song on radio ever.

"I love this song," commented Julian.

"Oh come on, even my songs make more sense than this," said Andrew. The song drew to a close, and a voice came through which the Chaser boys recognised as Kyle's co-host, Jackie O.

"_That was _Straight Lines_, here on 2Day FM, Sydney's number 1 hit music station_," she said. "_I'm Jackie O, and here is my co-host Kyle _…"

"Yes!" exclaimed the Doctor.

"… _who unfortunately couldn't be in the studio today, but is reporting from a location not far from here_." The Doctor put his head in his hands.

"So much for that," he muttered. "I wasted valuable hugs on you guys!"

"Shh!" said Chris.

"_Hi Kyle!_" exclaimed Jackie.

"_Hello Jackie_," said Kyle. "_It's great to be here in a different location from the studio_."

"_Oh, you're so lucky_," joked Jackie.

"_That I am_," said Kyle. "_Now it's time for my regular segment … Cryptic Kyle! For those of you who haven't heard it before, I'll make an announcement that doesn't make a lot of sense. It's up to you to understand it._" The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "_Okay, here we go … 'Attention – our plans are being speed increased! The medical person is here! When the time is zero, the world will become sexy!' And back to you Jackie." _The Doctor and the Chaser team exchanged glances. The silence was finally broken by Chas, who said, "What the hell was that?"

"When he said cryptic, he wasn't kidding," said Craig.

"Come on, it's easy!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Speed increased – accelerated. Medical person – Doctor. The time is zero – midnight, twenty four hour time. Sexy – hot." It took the others a minute to take all this in. It was Andrew who understood it first.

" 'Attention – our plans are being accelerated. The Doctor is here. At midnight, the world will become hot'."

"Kranskonaut obviously got to Walkimini and told him I was here," said the Doctor. "Walkimini didn't want his plans ruined, so he moved the date forward. He's going to fire that laser into Earth's atmosphere at midnight tonight."

"Why is it always midnight?" murmured Chris.

"So we've got to find him and stop him before then," said Chas. "What's the time now?"

"5 p.m.," said Julian. "We've got plenty of time."

"But we don't even know where Walkimini is," reminded Craig. "And even if we do find him, we don't have a plan."

"Well we know that Kranskonaut's with Walkimini," said the Doctor. "She wouldn't have been able to contact him otherwise. And I doubt he'd let her go."

"How come?" asked Andrew.

"She knows too much," said the Doctor. "He may have been able to convince her that his plans are harmless, but I reckon he'd keep her there just in case."

"You're making a lot of assumptions here Doctor," observed Chris. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? You might have the whole thing entirely wrong."

"900 years of practice, I've got a fairly good idea of how the system works by now," replied the Doctor. "It still doesn't help with where Walkimini is though. Although … my foes do have a habit of picking famous landmarks."

"Well Sydney's got plenty of them," said Julian.

"Yeah," said the Doctor. "But which one would it be?"

"The SCG," suggested Chas. "They could fire the laser during the cricket."

"I don't think they'd want to draw attention to the area," said the Doctor.

"Or maybe it's the other way around," said Andrew, turning to the others. "Maybe attention is just what they want."

"I don't follow," admitted the Doctor.

"Think about it," said Andrew. "If Walkimini's planning on firing the laser tonight, that suggests that it's pretty much finished. Which means if it wasn't tonight, it'd be pretty soon."

"That makes sense," said the Doctor.

"And what major event is coming up?" asked Andrew.

"Christmas," everyone else answered.

"I'll be more specific," said Andrew. "What major event involving a Sydney landmark is coming up?"

"The Boxing Day test match," said Chas.

"Will you stop talking about the cricket?!" exclaimed Andrew. "I was referring to …"

"New Year's Eve," realised Julian. "Millions of dollars of fireworks lighting up the sky, coming directly from the Sydney Harbour Bridge." The Doctor hit himself on the forehead.

"Of course," he said. "I should have realised. If they fired all these fireworks, who's to notice a laser going into the sky? The people will just think it's part of the show."

"Exactly," said Andrew.

"Smart thinking Andrew," said Craig.

"Yeah, good job," said Chris.

"Well there we have it," said Chas. "We've got our location."

"But where would Walkimini be hiding?" said the Doctor. "There's nothing under the bridge except water."

"And an underground tunnel," said Julian. "It was put in some time ago. I'm guessing that'll lead to the place where Walkimini's hiding himself and the laser."

"Blimey," said Chris. "That's some plan."

"And it's up to us to stop it," said the Doctor. "The survival of the human race lies in our hands."

"No pressure then," muttered Chas.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_We're really entering the pointy end of this now. It'll be over after few more chapters._


	17. Chapter 17

_Sorry it's been a bit of a wait. _

And so, armed with just a few remaining bottles of molten plastic, the Doctor and his companions made their way back to Chris's house, where the taxi Craig has been driving earlier was still parked.

"Come on, let's just take the TARDIS!" moaned the Doctor.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," said Craig. "People might get suspicious if they see blue boxes appearing out of nowhere. It might work fine in the open, but in the confined space of an underground tunnel it'll be more noticeable. The taxi will be better."

"Oh, very well _Dad_," said the Doctor.

"Oh crap, that reminds me!" exclaimed Craig. "I'd better call my wife and son! They must be wondering where I am!" While Craig quickly rang his family, the Doctor ran the others through the plan one more time.

"And you're sure you know what you're doing?" said Andrew.

"Oh, you can never be 100 percent sure of anything," said the Doctor. "Well, I suppose you can be. Like I'm 100 percent sure that I really want to be ginger … sorry, what was I saying? … oh yeah. I'm pretty sure the plan will work."

"That's comforting," murmured Chas to Chris.

"Now, I'll ask this now," said the Doctor. "Does anyone need to go to the toilet?" The guys looked at each other.

"I always ask," explained the Doctor. "Especially since some of the situations I get into tend to make the people around me, er, _excited_."

"Doctor, spare us the details!" said Chris.

"Oh, sorry," said the Doctor.

"Er, are we doing this or what?" asked Julian.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was always going to be a tight squeeze fitting six men into the taxi, so Chas volunteered to go in the boot (**A/N Something he's done on the show, BTW**). Julian was driving, Andrew was beside him, and the Doctor was squeezed between Chris and Craig.

"How did I lose control of this?" he said to himself.

"Oi, we're the ones helping you, you should be thankful," said Craig.

"Yeah, cut us some slack!" yelled Chas from the boot.

"You know, the last time I was driven somewhere, it was when I was escorted to 10 Downing Street," stated the Doctor. "Stopping the Slitheen from destroying the world. Having to choose between saving the world and losing Rose…" He trailed off. Andrew cleared his throat.

"So Doctor," he said, trying to change the subject. "What planet are you from?"

"It doesn't matter, it's gone," said the Doctor quietly.

"Ah," said Andrew. There was a long awkward silence, while each man was confined to his own thoughts. Finally the Doctor spoke.

"Do you know where you're going Julian?" he asked.

"Don't worry about Jules," said Andrew. "He knows more about this city than Alan Brough knows about music (**A/N There's your Spicks & Specks reference for those of you who wanted it)**." The Doctor checked his watch. It was 7:30 p.m.

"Are we there yet?" he wailed.

"Almost," said Julian. "Hmm, there's a lot of traffic tonight."

"At least it isn't Thursday," said Chris. "That's when the streets are packed with late-night shoppers."

"How would you know?" questioned Andrew.

"Well I…" began Chris defensively.

"Hey Craig! Why is there a dead possum in this boot?" called Chas.

"How should I know?" responded Craig.

"It's your taxi!" cried Chas.

"It's on loan!" replied Craig.

"How long have you got it for?" asked the Doctor.

"Will everyone just shut up for two seconds!" cried Julian. Instantly everyone went quiet.

"Thank you," said Julian. "Oh, that's so much better."

"Hey, how about some music to help us relax?" suggested Andrew. "I could sing the lounge version of _Rancid Amputation_…"

"Jules, there's the tunnel," said Craig.

"Okay, here we go," said Julian, turning into the tunnel. It was filled with cars.

"So what exactly are we looking for Doctor?" asked Andrew.

"Some sort of entrance," said the Doctor. "Try to look on the sides here." Everyone looked around for anything that might indicate an entrance.

"I don't suppose there'll be a big red sign that says WALKIMINI'S LAIR," said Chris.

"Probably not," said the Doctor. "Although… now you mention it…" He turned his head to face the side of the tunnel.

"Er, I was being sarcastic," said Chris.

"I know," said the Doctor. "But look at that there." He pointed to the left. The whole wall was the same drab grey colour, but you could just make out that there were hinges in place, which meant there was a door. And at the top of the door, were the words WALKIMINI'S LAIR.

"You've gotta be kidding me," said Chris.

"Well, it kinda makes sense," reasoned the Doctor. "The Polygrites need it to be obvious to them. And if I'm right … that isn't English."

"Er, yes it is," said Andrew.

"No, I don't think it is," said the Doctor. "You see, the TARDIS gets inside your head, translates alien languages. What you see in English now could just be the bunch of squiggles that the Polygrites used to communicate on Fankehreht. Not every planet in the universe speaks English, you know."

"But the Polygrites _do_ know English," said a confused Craig. "They can speak it easily."

"That's because they've been possessing people who speak English," explained the Doctor. "If they were possessing a Chinese person, they'd be speaking Chinese."

"What if they were possessing someone who knew two languages?" challenged Julian.

"Don't you get it, the Polygrites use whatever information is given to them," said the Doctor. "But at the same time, they retain the one language that they all hold dear. _That's _the language we see before us."

"Okay, whatever," said Julian. "Uh oh, the traffic's moving."

"Quick, we've gotta get out," said the Doctor.

"What about the taxi?" asked Craig.

"Leave it," said the Doctor. "We've got more important things to worry about. Now, everyone put on your masks. The pollution here's dreadful. Plus we don't know what tricks Walkimini might have up his sleeve." They all got out of the car. Chris went round to the boot and opened it.

"We're here Chas," he said.

"Shame, I was enjoying that," said Chas. "Uh, are we just gonna leave the taxi here? The other drivers won't be too happy about that."

"We're saving their lives, I think that justifies it," said Chris. "Come on." Chas scrambled out of the boot and followed the others to the door.

"What do we do now?" he asked. The Doctor tried moving the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"There must be some sort of password or something," he said.

"Polygrite!" suggested Craig.

"Walkimini!" put in Andrew. The door remained shut.

"Hmm, that doesn't seem to be doing it," said the Doctor. "Perhaps it's not a vocal password. Perhaps something has to be physically done to it. But what?"

"Could it be like a locker?" asked Julian.

"What do you mean?" said the Doctor.

"Well, sometimes if you try to open a locker, you might need to give it a couple of knocks to loosen it up," Julian explained. "Maybe it's the same with this."

"Anything's possible," said the Doctor. "Give it a go." Julian walked up to the door and gave it two hard knocks. Nothing happened.

"Nuts," he said, banging his head against the door. Suddenly, a mechanism inside it clicked, and the door swung open.

"Good work Jules!" exclaimed Andrew.

"We're through," said the Doctor, breathing a sigh of relief.. "Now for the hard part…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Dun dun dun!_

_We're getting very close to the end now. Your reviews count now more than ever, so keep writing them!_


	18. Chapter 18

_This was going to be shorter, but I decided that would be cruel, so I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter._

The men slowly walked down the corridor. There was total silence, save the dripping of the pipe above them. For the Chaser team, this was unlike anything they'd ever encountered before. This was the final showdown between good and evil. If they failed, they could die. And if that happened, who would be there to point out the faults in current affairs programs? Who would be there to test if the claims made in commercials were really true? And who would be there to get the viewing figures for the ABC over the 1 million mark? But then again, if the world was destroyed then that really wouldn't matter. But for the Doctor, it was a different matter. He'd faced thousands of enemies in his life, or lives for that matter. Sometimes they were human, sometimes they were alien, and sometimes they were Gallifreyan. He'd heard their claims of world domination so many times he could recite them off the top of his head. But never before had a companion's life been this much in danger. Oh sure, Rose and all his other companions may have been captured before, but this time Rose didn't even have control over her body. He couldn't lose her now, he just couldn't …

He put up a hand as he approached the end of the corridor. Ahead of him was a doorway, through which one could just see into the next room.

"Okay," he whispered. "I'm going in." The boys nodded. "When I give you the signal, you know what to do."

"Good luck," said Andrew. The Doctor gave them one last look, and ventured towards the doorway.

"You think he'll be okay?" asked Chas as the Doctor left. No one responded. They didn't need to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Doctor peeked into the room. It was lit by the same green glow of the corridor, but around the edge it was pitch black. It was large and round, with silver walls. And in the centre was a large contraption – Walkimini's laser.

"Bingo," he said to himself. He cautiously tiptoed in and walked up to the laser.

_Aren't you a beauty_, he thought. _Pity I'll have to destroy you._ He reached into his pocket for the sonic screwdriver. As he moved round to the other side of the laser, he gasped. There was a man lying there, his eyes closed. His heavy breathing suggested he was asleep. And though the Doctor had never laid eyes on him before, he had a fair idea who this man was.

"Walkimini," he said. By the looks of it, Walkimini had fallen asleep while guarding the laser. But then the Doctor noticed some tools strewn about, and he realised that Walkimini had been in the process of fine-tuning it. Which was fair enough, he supposed, considering it wasn't originally meant to be fired until a few more weeks. The Doctor examined the laser more carefully now.

"In the name of Rassilion," he said. "This thing's nowhere near finished! Incomplete circuits, unconnected wires, unstable power supply…" He trailed off as he heard footsteps. He spun around, to see Kranskonaut staring at him.

"Doctor!" she exclaimed. "Walkimini, wake up!"

"No Kranskonaut, please don't wake Walkimini," pleaded the Doctor. "He's dangerous. He either has no idea what he's doing, or worse still, he knows _exactly _what he's doing."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kranskonaut.

"This laser … I told you that it would gradually destroy the Earth," said the Doctor. "But that was presuming it was perfectly designed. The way this thing's been put together, the Earth won't last more than a couple of hours after it's been fired!"

"I don't believe you," said the ever-defiant Kranskonaut. "Walkimini would never do that to us. He wants us to live."

"You say that, but do you really believe it?" questioned the Doctor. "I gather you've been in this room for a while now."

"Since I escaped your clutches," said Kranskonaut.

"And why didn't Walkimini let you leave, hmm?" asked the Doctor. "Didn't he trust you?"

"He … he … he said he wanted someone to help him, and that I was perfect for the job," said Kranskonaut.

"Help how? By making the tea? Come on Kranskonaut, how thick can you get?" said the Doctor. "Walkimini kept you in here so you wouldn't go blabbing his plans to everyone. Which is what you pretty much did with me and the others."

"Nonsense," said a voice from behind the Doctor, who didn't even bother turning around.

"Hello Walkimini," he said. "Nice to finally meet you."

"I wish I could say the same," said Walkimini, who had stood up and was now holding his gun against the Doctor's head. "Would you do me the honour of showing me your face?" The Doctor sighed and turned around to face Walkimini.

"Hmm, you've changed," observed Walkimini. "Odd, but not impossible, I suppose. As you know, the Polygrites take many different forms during their life, so I guess it must be the same with your species. You're obviously not human, you're far too intelligent."

"Thanks for the compliment," muttered the Doctor. "And you – Kranskonaut's told me all about you. The Polygrites' great leader. 'Never the most social being, but extremely smart', were the words used, I believe." He looked round to Kranskonaut for confirmation.

"Oh, yes, something like that," she confirmed. "And I also told you about how upset he was at the verdict of our banishment. That proves that he just wants what's best for us."

"Perhaps," said the Doctor. "Although … I would like to know why he told you to stay away from the media and other influences."

"It was so she and the other Polygrites would focus on their mission," said Walkimini.

"So it wasn't because you were worried about the information they could find out?" said the Doctor. "Well, I guess that settles that. But not letting them watch television was really mean. There are so many good shows on! _The Simpsons, _sports programs … oh, and _The Chaser's War On Everything._"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From their hiding place at the end of the corridor, the Chaser team heard the Doctor speak.

"That's the signal," said Julian. "Craig, have a look at what's happening." Craig snuck up to the doorway and looked in. He then walked back to them.

"There's this old guy who I guess is Walkimini pointing a gun at the Doctor," he reported. "Kranskonaut's just standing back watching."

"Right," said Chris. "Well, this is it. Let's do it." With the bottles of molten plastic in their pockets, they made their way through the doorway, masks on faces. Walkimini was totally distracted by the rambling Doctor, so he didn't notice them split up and make their way around the room. Andrew stood in the dark, a few metres behind Kranskonaut. Craig and Chris were looking around the room for any alternate routes out of the place. If they had to make a run for it, they wanted it to be a bit more convenient. Meanwhile, Chas and Julian headed through to the next room, where they were surrounded by a number of tools and piles of paper.

"Don't mind if I do," Chas said to himself, picking up a bunch of crowbars and looking round for more. Julian, on the other hand, was looking through the plans of the laser. Having crowbars was one thing, but knowing where to use them was another. As he looked through he blueprints, he couldn't help noticing the words that were printed on each page – OPERATION REVENGE.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**A/N This is where I was going to stop it. But since I'm so kind...**

"Okay, enough!" exclaimed Walkimini. "Doctor, I don't know who this Paris Hilton is, and to tell you the truth I don't care!"

"Oh, all right," said the Doctor. The task of keeping Walkimini occupied had been remarkably easy. All he had to do was talk! And whilst doing so, he's noticed the Chaser boys enter the room, and they had all gone off to do their various jobs. It was all coming together…

"Doctor! You will look at me when I'm talking to you!" cried Walkimini.

"What are you, my teacher?" said the Doctor. "Listen, the only person with authority around here is me. You're going to listen to what _I _have to say. And I say … now Andrew!" Andrew jumped out of his hiding spot and grabbed Kranskonaut, who screamed. Walkimini reached for his gun, but by the time it was aimed Andrew had already forced his Powerade bottle against Kranskonaut's lips.

"One more move and she dies," threatened Andrew. Walkimini laughed.

"Go ahead, kill her," he said. "She was only getting in the way."

"But what would her family and friends say?" asked the Doctor. "They'd want to know how and why she died. There'd be so many questions involved, the Polygrites may question your position …"

"Hmm, you have a point," said Walkimini. "However, you are obviously new to the game of killing Polygrites. You should be aware that if you kill a Polygrite while it is possessing another creature, you kill that creature too." Andrew looked at the Doctor for orders.

"Let her go," sighed the Doctor. Andrew released his grip, and Kranskonaut looked up at Walkimini.

"Were you honestly going to let me die?" she asked.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" said Walkimini casually. "I knew these guys were weak. The Doctor always did have a soft spot for girls."

"But I … oh!" cried Kranskonaut, clutching her head. "Rose … sending … message …"

"Rose?" said the Doctor.

"How does that work Doctor?" asked Andrew. "When Kranskonaut was possessing Baz he had no idea what was happening."

"Baz … weak … unwilling … Rose is … stronger," forced out Kranskonaut.

"You mean she's been there all this time? Watching and listening to everything that's happened?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes," said Kranskonaut. "She … wants to know … how … you know how … Jess … died…"

"Who's Jess?" asked Andrew, but the Doctor spoke straight to Kranskonaut

"There were traces of Polygrite DNA in her system," he said quietly.

"But … no … Polygrite?" said Kranskonaut.

"Well, no," said the Doctor. "I'd always assumed the Polygrite had died with her. But I never knew for sure."

"And … what form … were you … in?" gasped Kranskonaut.

"Um, my e-eighth," stammered the Doctor. "But … wait a sec." He turned to Walkimini. "How did you know that I've changed?" All eyes were on Walkimini, who said nothing. He didn't need to. The Doctor looked him coldly in the eye.

"It was you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Gasp!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Sorry for the wait. It took me a while to get motivated for this one, but soon it just started flowing. BTW are you guys getting emails about reviews and alerts? Coz I'm not._

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Walkimini.

"Come on Walkimini, don't play games," said the Doctor, who began to circle his adversary. "I can't believe I didn't see it before! I guess … I just didn't want it to be true." He leaned in towards Walkimini 'til their faces were centimetres apart. "You killed Jess," he said menacingly.

"It wasn't like that," said Walkimini. "She was threatening our way of life. Something had to be done to keep her quiet. So I tried to possess her. But while I was in her body, I could feel that something was wrong. Her systems were failing. I escaped, but she died."

"Yeah, like that's so much better," said the Doctor. " 'I didn't kill her, I just tried to take over her body'. Walkimini, you were responsible for the death of an innocent young girl. And now your Kranskonaut's possessing Rose. Well I'm not going to lose another companion because of the Polygrites." The Doctor kept looking at Walkimini, and backed him into the corner, standing in his line of vision. Meanwhile, Kranskonaut was pulled back into the shadows by Andrew, who was soon joined by the others. Andrew held Kranskonaut and put his hand over her mouth.

"How did you go?" he asked the others.

"There's an area of the base where the walls are practically hollow, so given the right tools we should be able to escape through there," said Craig.

"You can use these," said Chas, holding up the crowbars. "But leave some for the laser, we need to destroy that."

"I've got the plans," said Julian. "The weakest area seems to be just here." He pointed to a section on the paper.

"I don't suppose we can just reprogram the laser?" asked Chris. "It's just that the use of crowbars might be a bit, you know, loud."

"True, but do any of you actually know anything about lasers?" asked Chas. There was silence all round, save the background noise of the Doctor continuing to throw accusations at Walkimini. Suddenly Kranskonaut cautiously raised her hand. Andrew slowly released his hand from her mouth.

"I do," she said meekly.

"What?" said Andrew.

"I know about lasers," said Kranskonaut. "I could help."

"Don't listen to her, it's a trick," said Chris.

"No it isn't," insisted Kranskonaut. "That was the part I loved about Walkimini's plan. That it was using the item that fascinates me most. But now … I realise that Walkimini is sick. Insane. Off his head. And for taking his word over yours … I'm sorry. Please let me make it up to you. Let me do this for you." The Chaser team exchanged glances.

"Jules, you're executive producer of the Chaser, what do you think?" asked Chris.

"But Charles founded the Chaser, he should choose," said Julian.

"Charles isn't exactly here right now," reminded Andrew. "He's in America, completely oblivious to any of this." Julian sighed.

"I guess we've got nothing left to lose," he said. "Go for it Kranskonaut."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And how do you plan to stop me Doctor?" asked Walkimini. "The laser is primed and ready to go. I know I said midnight in the announcement, but that can be easily changed. And you're hardly prepared to stop me. Don't forget, I've got this." He indicated his gun. "Besides, in case you've forgotten, I'm a Polygrite. And Polygrites can do this!" He opened his mouth, and allowed the white cloud of gas into the Doctor's mouth. However after a few seconds he flew back out, into his previous body. And because the time that had passed was so short, he quickly adjusted.

"Okay, that was weird," he said. "Exactly what manner of alien are you?"

"I'm a …" began the Doctor, but before he could finish he heard the sound of crowbars smashing against the walls. Walkimini pushed the Doctor out of the way and went see what was happening. It was only now that he laid eyes on the rest of the Doctor's companions, who were at present smashing through the wall. And there, at the laser, was Kranskonaut, frantically playing around with wires.

"You traitor!" he cried.

"You can talk," retaliated Kranskonaut. "Good of the Polygrites my arse. This whole thing has just been about you. You wanted to exact your revenge on the species that got us banished from Fankehreht, so you decided to ruin Earth. The whole possession thing's just been a way to keep the rest of us quiet and happy, hasn't it?" Kranskonaut looked at her former leader, her eyes shining with determination. Walkimini said nothing. Instead he raised his gun. The Doctor gasped and ran towards Kranskonaut. As Walkimini fired, the Doctor leapt in the way, copping the bullet in his right shoulder.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "That hurt!" Kranskonaut looked at him helplessly.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

"Finish … laser …" said the Doctor. But as Kranskonaut turned back to her work, she saw Walkimini approaching her. She gasped.

"The Doctor may have taken a bullet for you, but I doubt these guys will," he said. He grinned … then fell onto the laser. Kranskonaut looked up, to see Chas standing behind the place where Walkimini lay, a crowbar in his hand.

"Thanks," she said.

"Don't mention it," said Chas. They smiled, but were interrupted by the sound of loud beeping that was coming from the laser. Kranskonaut looked at Walkimini's body.

"Oh no," she said, lifting up Walkimini's right hand. To her horror, she discovered that it had landed on the initiation button.

"_Firing will commence in 120 seconds_," said an automated voice. _"119, 118, 117…"_

"We've got to get out of here!" exclaimed Chas.

"I've gotta finish the laser!" said Kranskonaut. "There are 2 wires that I need to disconnect!"

"You can't!" cried Chas. The Doctor and the others came over to them.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That laser's going to fire in 2 minutes," said Kranskonaut. "You guys have got to get out of here."

"But what about you? And Rose?" asked the Doctor.

"I can leave Rose's body," said Kranskonaut. "I'll enter the laser. I won't be able to turn it off, but I might be able to change the setting … from fire to self-destruct."

"_No_!" everyone cried.

"I have to," said Kranskonaut. "If I don't do this, everyone dies." She turned to the Doctor. "You took a bullet for me. Let me give my life for you, and for this planet." The Doctor took a deep breath, and nodded. Kranskonaut slowly exited Rose's body, and flew into the laser.

"Get out!" she said in her whispery voice. The Doctor took Rose, and ignoring the pain in his shoulder, ran with the others towards the tunnel they'd made.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Man, I have a habit for killing off my introduced female characters (see my fics **Nerual **and **The Tudor Intruder**). Anyway, please review._


	20. Chapter 20

The Doctor crawled through the tunnel, wincing with pain at every move.

"Good thing Walkimini didn't care much about the infrastructure, eh Doctor?" called Chris from the front of the pack. The Doctor attempted to reply, but instead let out a cry as a jagged piece of rock pierced his knee. The others looked back.

"Doctor, this is ridiculous," said Craig. "First of all, pass Rose through to us. We'll take care of her."

"No," said the Doctor. "Must … keep her … safe."

"She'll be safe with us," assured Julian, who had stopped crawling, along with the others, who nodded. The Doctor looked at the unconscious Rose. He placed his hand on her cheek, pressed a small kiss to her forehead, and handed her over to Craig. He passed her through to Chas and Andrew. It was just now that the laser exploded, the effects shaking the already fragile tunnel.

"We'd better get out of here," said Chas. He and the others moved ahead, but Craig stayed behind with the Doctor. He then took his T-Shirt off.

"What are you doing?" asked the Doctor.

"You need something to wrap around that shoulder of yours," explained Craig. "This should do the trick." The Doctor nodded and let Craig attend to him.

"Thanks," he said.

"No worries," said Craig. "Now let's get moving."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The tunnel finally ended when they came to a solid brick wall, which the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to soften and break through. This led to a public toilet, which their friend Baz was sitting on. Before he knew what had happened, they'd made their way out of the toilet block, and were relieved to find that the TARDIS was literally metres away from them.

"What luck!" exclaimed Julian.

"Yeah, someone up there must like us," murmured the Doctor sarcastically as he wiped his brow, which was sweaty and dirty. Just then, Rose, who was being held by Andrew, began muttering. Her eyes fluttered open, and as they adjusted, the first thing she saw was Andrew's big hair.

"Doctor!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

"Uh … no," said Andrew. "Doctor, you're needed over here." The Doctor rushed over and gently took Rose in his arms. Rose clung onto him as her legs gave way. The Doctor hastily swept her legs up from under her so she was lying in his arms. The pain from his shoulder seemed to just go away as he looked into her eyes. She placed her arms around his neck and looked back at him.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello," said the Doctor, grinning. For a moment they just stayed like that, the rest of the world fading away. But then Chris cleared his throat, and the Doctor immediately put Rose down and dusted himself off.

"Okay, that's that then," he said. "Well, we did it."

"You can say that again," said Chas.

"Well, we did it," repeated the Doctor. Rose laughed and put an arm around the Doctor's waist.

"You guys were amazing in there," she said to the Chaser team.

"Oh, it was nothing," said Craig modestly.

"Piece of cake," added Julian. "Although, I've had easier in my time. Like getting into an APEC restricted area – now _that_ was easy."

"And fun," said Chas. "But this was fun too. In a scary life-and-death sort of way."

"I'm glad you brought that up," said the Doctor. "Because like Rose said – you guys were a real help to me. And I was wondering … if you'd like to come with us."

"Come with you?" said Chris.

"Travel the universe, all of time and space," elaborated the Doctor. "Seeing impossible sites, meeting historical people, saving the world … what do you think?" The Chaser guys looked at one another.

"Well I certainly can't," said Craig. "I've got a family to look after. Which I really should be getting back to. See you guys." With that he ran off and hailed a taxi, who looked at him questioningly at his lack of shirt.

"Okay, fair enough," said the Doctor. "How about you Chris?"

"Um, I don't think so," Chris said. "I'm willing to sing in front of total strangers and pretend to have sex with old women, but risking my life each day is going just a little too far for me."

"Chas?" asked the Doctor.

"Nah mate," said Chas, shaking his head. "It sounds great and all, but it'd also scare the shit out of me."

"Okay," said the Doctor. "Andrew then."

"Oh, um, I, er…" stammered Andrew. He then trailed off as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and gasped. There, walking out of a building, even more beautiful than when he first saw her, was montypython. He blindly let his legs carry himself over to her. Upon seeing each other, they fell into a mutual embrace.

"Um, I think that's a no on account of finding true love," said Julian. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't she a little young?" he questioned.

"Hey, I've seen younger," said Julian. "Besides, I could say the same thing about you and Rose."

"Oh, we're not…" said Rose and the Doctor in unison.

"Sure guys, whatever you say," said Julian, giving them a wink. "And as for me joining you? Thanks but no thanks."

"Are you sure?" asked Rose.

"Yeah," said Julian. "Listen, it's up to you guys to save the world. And it's up to the Chaser team to wage war on it." The Doctor and Rose laughed.

"So what about the Polygrites?" Rose asked the Doctor. "They're still wandering around inside little girls. And that warehouse is full of them."

"Actually, I think I may have a solution for that," said Julian. "Since the Chaser's become so popular, I've made quite a few contacts in the world of TV. And if I can make a negotiation with the Polygrites, we'll be good to go."

"What is it?" asked the Doctor. Julian tapped the side of his nose.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously. "But I expect you guys'll be wanting to go now."

"Well, that's what we do," said the Doctor. "But thank you for everything." He shook Julian's hand, then did the same with Chas and Chris. He looked around for Andrew, but he'd disappeared.

"Oh well," he said. "Right then. Rose, let's get going." Rose waved goodbye to everyone, then joined the Doctor in the TARDIS.

"Doctor, I'm so sorry I couldn't have been of more help this time round," she said. "I just hated that I was completely aware of everything that was going on and couldn't do a thing about it."

"Hey, don't worry about it," said the Doctor. "You managed to get that message through, and that was a big help. And right now I'm just glad to have you back." Rose gave the Doctor a big hug, but the Doctor pulled out and rubbed his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said.

"Hey, don't be," said Rose. "I'm hardly going to be mad that you can't hug me because of the _bullet you took for me_." The Doctor smiled modestly.

"It was nothing," he said.

"I don't know Doctor, that looks pretty serious," said Rose. She sounded serious, but there was something else in her voice, something the Doctor couldn't put his finger on. "I think I may need to examine this further. Which would mean, of course, the removal of your shirt." The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I see," he said. Without taking his eyes off her, he set the TARDIS to dematerialise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Julian, Chas and Chris watched as the TARDIS disappeared.

"Whoa," said Chas. "What a day."

"Jules, what did you mean before?" asked Chris. "About negotiating with the Polygrites?"

"All in good time, my friends," said Julian. "All in good time."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Next is the epilogue, which means this is pretty much over. _

_For those of you who are interested, I just finished a Doctor/Rose vid to the song "Gypsy". To see it, go to my profile and click on my homepage (i.e. my YouTube profile page). There you can see that vid and the others that I've done._


	21. Chapter 21

**Epilogue**

_**6 months later**_

"Pardon me, coming through, VIP…" the Doctor muttered as he made his way through the crowd, Rose following close behind.

"And … here we go," the Doctor said as they found their seats. They sat down. Just then a message came through on the loudspeaker.

"_Attention ladies and gentlemen, The Chaser's War On Everything will be commencing shortly. Please ensure that all mobile phones have been switched off, and no flash photography. Thank you."_

"Oh Doctor, I'm so excited!" exclaimed Rose. The girl sitting next to them turned to them. She looked familiar.

"First time?" she asked.

"Yeah," said the Doctor.

"Oh, you'll love it," said the girl. "It's so much better than on TV. I come just about every week if I can."

"Wow, you must really love the Chaser boys," commented Rose. The girl smiled.

"One in particular," she said. She got out her wallet and showed the Doctor and Rose a picture of her and Andrew Hansen. The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, having realised where they'd seen this girl before.

"_We are now starting. Please cease talking, and enjoy the show."_

The theme music started playing, and the camera zoomed in on Chris and Craig on the couch.

"Good evening, right around Australia, welcome to the War for another week," said Craig. "And Chris, what a week it's been."

"That's right Craig," said Chris. "Of course the big story of the week being the launch of Channel Ten's new reality show _Possessed, _where ordinary people get to experience being possessed by aliens for 3 months at a time…"

**The End**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_I can't believe it. It's over. Who would have thought that one idea about a china doll blinking would have led to months of work and over 20,000 words. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing :)_


End file.
